Collaborative production asset management

ABSTRACT

In an approach, a method of spotting music for a motion picture comprises: receiving music editor (MXE) cue related data defining a plurality of cues each having a start timecode value and an end timecode value; based on the MXE data, creating and storing an MXE timecode path, a composer (CMP) timecode path, and a cue sheet timecode path; copying one or more of the MXE cue related data to CMP cues in the CMP timecode path in a CMP spotting dataset; receiving one or more changes to the CMP cues without also modifying the MXE cue related data; applying an editing lock to the CMP cues; auto-populating the CMP cues to cue sheet cues in the cue sheet timecode path; receiving one or more changes to the cue sheet cues without also modifying the CMP cues; finalizing and distributing a cue sheet based on the cue sheet cues; wherein the method is performed by one or more special-purpose computing devices.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS; BENEFIT CLAIM

The present application claims the benefit as a Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 13/931,532, filed Jun. 28, 2013, which claimsbenefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 as a Continuation of application Ser. No.13/896,273, filed May 16, 2013 and as a Continuation of internationalapplication PCT/US13/41469, filed May 16, 2013 which both claim benefitunder 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of priority to provisional application61/648,035, filed May 16, 2012, the entire contents of theaforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes as though fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to obtaining, during processesof producing an audiovisual program, production-related data from aplurality of separate parties who are involved in the production,authoritatively binding the production-related data to timecode data ofthe audiovisual program, and providing data output that integrates theproduction-related data in ways that have been previously unavailable.The present disclosure relates more specifically to computer-basedtechniques supporting processes involved in managing data and assetsrelated to music, original and licensed, for audiovisual programs.

BACKGROUND

Every film and television show presents numerous opportunities forcommerce. For example, a viewer watching his/her favorite show may beinterested in purchasing music from the episode being viewed before theshow has even ended. As another example, a viewer may want to buy a pairof shoes or other product that a character is wearing in a particularscene. In yet another example, a viewer may be interested in staying ata hotel where a certain scene was filmed.

Although many exciting consumer devices and applications are currentlybeing introduced to enable these types of transactions, they all lackthe most important ingredient—specific and detailed information aboutthe program and its elements. In order for these transactional enginesto operate they need accurate data as fuel.

An abundant wealth of information is produced during the making of a TVshow or film. Composers, music editors, music supervisors and pictureeditors generate essential information about the music created orlicensed for a TV show or film. The location manager must track eachlocation where the filming takes place, costume designers have detailedinformation about each piece of clothing, and picture editors knowprecisely where each of these elements appears in the program. Yet, muchof this detail-rich data is discarded during the process of creating theshow or film. What does survive is often stored in isolated and poorlydesigned systems—or worse, on paper, where the critical information isnotoriously difficult to retrieve and easily lost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a computer-networking environment upon which anembodiment may be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates a product spotting layout according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3A illustrates a general layout for the user interface provided bya client unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3B illustrates the general layout when the widget associated withthe series setup layout has been selected according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates the general layout when the widget associated withthe series overview layout has been selected according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates the general layout when the widget associated withthe episode setup layout has been selected according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates the general layout when the widget associated withthe spotting layout has been selected according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates the general layout when the widget associated withthe offset layout has been selected according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates the general layout when the widget associated withthe cue review layout has been selected according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates the general layout when the widget associated withthe billing and expenses layout has been selected according to anembodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates the general layout when the widget associated withthe cue sheet layout has been selected according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates a scene assignment layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates the general layout when the widget associated withthe continuity layout has been selected according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates a MSP series setup layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates a letter template layout according to an embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a MSP worksheet layout according to an embodiment.

FIG. 16 illustrates an expanded track information layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 17 illustrates a CueLinks layout according to an embodiment.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example workflow for the music search portalaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system upon whichan embodiment of the invention may be implemented.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example user group master hierarchy according toan embodiment.

FIG. 21 illustrates an alternative series setup layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 22 illustrates an alternative episode setup layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 23 illustrates an alternative spotting layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 24 illustrates a video spotting layout according to an embodiment.

FIG. 25 illustrates a hybrid spotting layout according to an embodiment.

FIG. 26 illustrates an alternative offset layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 27 illustrates an alternative cue review layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 28 illustrates an alternative billing & expenses layout accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 29 illustrates a cue creation and assignment layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 30 illustrates an alternative cue sheet layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 31 illustrates an alternative continuity layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 32 illustrates an alternative MSP worksheet layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 33 illustrates an alternative extended track worksheet layoutaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 34 illustrates a musicians group tool layout according to anembodiment.

FIG. 35 illustrates a take tool layout according to an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

In the description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe present invention. It will be apparent, however, that the presentinvention may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

Embodiments are described herein according to the following outline:

-   -   1.0 General Overview    -   2.0 Abbreviations    -   3.0 Definitions    -   4.0 Structural Overview    -   5.0 Database Overview    -   6.0 Security    -   7.0 System Wide Assumptions and Tools    -   8.0 Layout Overview    -   9.0 Series Setup Layout    -   10.0 Series Overview Layout    -   11.0 Episode Setup Layout    -   12.0 Spotting Overview    -   13.0 Spotting Layout    -   14.0 Timecode Offset Layout    -   15.0 Cue Review Layout    -   16.0 Billing and Expenses Layout    -   17.0 Cue Sheet layout    -   18.0 Scene Assignment Layout    -   19.0 Continuity Layout    -   20.0 MSP Series and Template Layout    -   21.0 MSP Worksheet Layout    -   22.0 Product Placement Layout    -   23.0 Music Search Portal    -   24.0 Alternative Layouts    -   25.0 Live Session Tools    -   26.0 Hardware Overview    -   27.0 Additional Disclosure

1.0 GENERAL OVERVIEW

Techniques are provided for obtaining, during processes of producing anaudiovisual program, production-related data from a plurality ofseparate parties who are involved in the production, authoritativelybinding the production-related data to timecode data of the audiovisualprogram, and providing data output that integrates theproduction-related data in ways that have been previously unavailable.Using these techniques, a data processing system can integrate data fromvarious parties who are typically associated with different companiesthat do not ordinarily share production-related data. Further,production-related abstract labels such as acts, scenes and shots, orother values that relate to other production trades, may be bound tospecific timecode points in the audiovisual program and used to generateoutput such as reports that include production-related data from aplurality of parties who typically do not share such data in ordinaryproduction processes.

Techniques are provided for collaborative product asset management. Inan embodiment, a cloud-based data processing platform provides data andmedia management features to improve workflow, from inception todelivery, for people involved in selecting, creating, recording,manipulating, placing, producing, managing, licensing, delivering, andadministering music for film and television programs (or any mediumwhere music accompanies a moving image). By creating value for everyoneconnected to the production, including production studios, musicpublishers, performance rights organizations (PROs) and record labels,the platform helps streamline the collection and management of musicrights, enabling quicker and more accurate royalty payments.

For purposes of illustrating clear examples, certain description hereinrefer to specific roles such as MXE and CMP, but in other embodimentsdifferent persons not actually having those roles may perform thespecified steps. Further, the responsibilities and features associatedwith the roles may, in other embodiments, be merged or overlapped withother roles in many various combinations.

In some cases, for convenience, specific examples of audiovisualprograms will be described in reference to particular features. In suchcases, the features apply to audiovisual programs generally, in additionto the specific examples provided. In this context, audiovisual programsincludes television, film, movies, video games, steaming media,commercials, and all other forms of visual media.

Every film and television show utilizes music—from Hollywoodblockbusters to low-budget reality TV series. Billions are paid annuallyin licensing fees and royalties for this music. Yet, the current toolsfor managing this process tend to be antiquated, disjointed, laborintensive, and manual. This creates redundant work for many individualsand business entities involved, and results in lost and delayed revenuefor the major production studios and for composers, music publishers,and record labels. It can even lead to costly litigation due toinefficiencies in tracking music rights.

In an embodiment, the platform provides a comprehensive tool fortracking music rights by embracing the entire audiovisual programecosystem. For example, by collecting information from the contentcreators themselves during production, rather than hastily assemblingthe information after the audiovisual program has been fully completedfrom many scattered and hard to access sources. As a result, theplatform is able to collect the highest quality and most accurateinformation for a television/film production directly from the usersresponsible for coordinating that content in the production. Theplatform provides content creators with a wide array of user-specificworkflow improvement tools. For example, a utility to convert scenesinto music cues can be provided. Further, each user may be provided withpermissions and tools corresponding to their specific job (composer,music supervisor, music editor, wardrobe manager, assistants, etc.) andthe ability to share information needed to coordinate their efforts. Theplatform thus encourages collaboration and sharing of jointly-used data,while using secure encryption (or other security techniques) to keepeach user's sensitive information safe. Thus, the platform encouragesthe content creators to take advantage of its services by providingconvenient tools to assist in the production, and as a result, collectsvaluable music scoring and product placement information. Thisinformation can then be used for other purposes, such as obtaining ortracking rights to the music, paying royalties, or providing advertiserswith accurate timings for when certain music tracks (original orlicensed) or products appear in the production.

The information collected by the platform's users can be used to enableimpulse purchases—consumer purchases made as a direct result of watchinga TV show or film. One example is music. Studies have shown that 49% ofconsumers discover music through television, yet there is currently noeasy way for consumers to instantly identify a specific song in a TVshow and purchase it. Since users are far more likely to purchase musicat the moment of impulse, the opportunities to boost music sales aresignificant. For example, the music rights information captured from thevarious users, and the music media itself via the platform during thecreation of the TV show/film may be provided to advertisers. Theadvertisers are then able to provide targeted advertisements toconsumers watching the production, enabling them to purchase tracksassociated with a scene they are currently viewing or had previouslyviewed. In some embodiments, the target advertisements may also beextended into non-music purchases as well, such as clothes, vehicles,hotel stays, or other products or services depicted in the production.For example, a costume manager may use the platform to coordinate whichscene a character will be wearing a particular jacket. That informationmay then be exported to advertisers, who can provide advertisingassociated with those scenes to offer users the opportunity to purchasethe jacket while the impulse is still fresh in their minds.

In an embodiment, a method of spotting music for a motion picturecomprises: receiving music editor (MXE) cue related data defining aplurality of cues each having a start timecode value and an end timecodevalue; based on the MXE data, creating and storing an MXE timecode path,a composer (CMP) timecode path, and a cue sheet timecode path; copyingone or more of the MXE cue related data to CMP cues in the CMP timecodepath in a CMP spotting dataset; receiving one or more changes to the CMPcues without also modifying the MXE cue related data; applying anediting lock to the CMP cues; auto-populating the CMP cues to cue sheetcues in the cue sheet timecode path; receiving one or more changes tothe cue sheet cues without also modifying the CMP cues; finalizing anddistributing a cue sheet based on the cue sheet cues; wherein the methodis performed by one or more special-purpose computing devices.

In an embodiment, a method of licensing music for a motion picturecomprises: receiving music related data defining a plurality of musicevents each having a start timecode value and an end timecode value,wherein the music related data is one or more of: MXE data, CMP data, orVDE data; based on the music related data, creating and storing an MSPtimecode path; based on the MSP timecode path displaying informationrelated to the music events; receiving MSP user input defining one ormore request letter templates; generating one or more request lettersbased on the one or more request letter templates, wherein the one ormore request letters contain at least a portion of the informationrelated to the music events; sending the one or more request letters toone or more recipients; wherein the method is performed by one or morespecial-purpose computing devices.

Embodiments may be implemented in a variety of distributed systems orsystems that provide high availability. An example is Qwire,commercially available from Qwire Holdings LLC, Irvington, N.Y., whichprovides a cloud-based platform and collaborative editing tools formanaging cue, scene, and other information related to an audiovisualproduction.

2.0 ABBREVIATIONS

The following abbreviations are used throughout the followingdescription:

-   -   CMP—Composer    -   MXE—Music Editor    -   MSP—Music Supervisor    -   VDE—Video Editor/Picture Editor    -   PRO—Performing Rights Societies    -   PUB—Music publisher, production music library, record label, or        other music rights holder    -   CS—Cue Sheet

3.0 DEFINITIONS

The following terms appear numerously in the following description:

Series—A collection of TV episodes under a singular title, often airingone week apart from one another. Examples include “Seinfeld” and “24”.Series are broken down into seasons, reflecting a package of showsbought by a distributor. A single season of a series can contain awidely different number of episodes. For example, some seasons maycontain as few as 4-5 episodes and as many as 30-40 or more.

Act—For TV episodes, acts are defined as where commercial breaks appear.Act 0 refers to anything prior to the opening titles. Acts containscenes. Scenes contain music cues. Music cues may span more than onescene. In the context of films, the reels are often used in place ofacts.

Scene—Within a given production, scene refers to one or more locationsin which a unit of dramatic action occurs. Scenes have scene numbers,scene locations, and scene descriptions. A scene can be either interior(INT) or exterior (EXT). For example, a scene appearing on a continuityreport might read “EXT-Night Parking Lot” with the description “Bob'svan pulls up and 3 gunmen get out. An altercation with police ensues”.

Cue—A single piece of music occurring over a particular time range inthe episode, either within a specific scene, or bridging 2 or morescenes. Cues refer to either an original composition, or a licensedpiece of existing music. Cues can be assigned both numbers and names. Insome contexts, the cue numbers often follow the act number or reelnumber in the naming schema, with an ‘m’ in between standing for music.For example, 3m4 means act 3, cue 4.

Starts—Another name for cues, often refers to the number of cues in agiven act or scene. For example, Act 3 may have 12 starts (meaning 12cues).

Timecode—The timing convention used to mark each frame of a productionwith a number representing time, such as by hours, minutes, seconds, andframes, e.g. 1:05:23:11.

Offset—When timecode values need to be adjusted to accommodate a changein the production's video edit. For example, scenes may be shortened orextended resulting in other scenes needing to be moved forward or backin time. Thus, there may be an updated edit of an episode whereeverything after act 3 scene 4 needs to be moved forward by 16 secondsand 23 frames.

Temp—Stands for temporary music. Temp is often inserted by the videoeditor during the video editing process, to be replaced later with acombination of original score by the composer and licensed pre-existingmusic.

Spotting (or Spot)—The process of viewing a production's video anddeciding where music needs to be. Cues are created during spotting, andeach cue is given a start timecode and an end timecode.

Cue Sheet—A report required by the PROs in order to pay royalties to itscomposer and publisher members. The report often contains cue numbers,cue titles, cue lengths, composers, and publishers who wrote and own thecue, and their respective percentage splits. In TV, each episodegenerally requires a corresponding cue sheet. In film, only one cuesheet is typically provided for the whole film.

Publishers—Refers to entities that own the rights to a song or track'scomposition (but not necessarily the recording of the track).

Master Owners—Refers to entities that own the recording of a particularsong (but not necessarily the composition of said song).

Track—A piece of music, either pre-existing or composed.

Assignee—A person who composes original music, or otherwise createsmusic via editing or some other process for a given series or episode.

Composer—A member of the production team whose responsibilitiestypically go beyond composing original music and may include matchingassignees to cues, reviewing an assignees progress, revising spotting,managing a music budget, hiring musicians, orchestrating music, andother managerial tasks for a series or episode.

Music Editor—A member of the production team whose responsibilitiestypically include performing the initial spotting and finalizing the cuesheet. His duties may also include helping to choose temp music, keepingtrack of critical data during live recording sessions, and assemblingall of the final music assets for delivery.

Music Supervisor—A member of the production team whose responsibilitiestypically include determining those cues which require licenses andnegotiating with licensors. The music supervisor may also recommendlicensable songs to be used in a production.

Video Editor—A member of the production team whose responsibilitiestypically include combining and assembling raw footage into scenes totell a story. In some cases, the role of the video editor is alsoreferred to as “picture editor” since the VDE is not necessarily limitedto editing video and can edit still pictures as well.

Option Cell—a widget that pertains to a particular piece of pre-existingmusic in consideration for licensing. The option cell is used by the MSPto bring up fields pertaining to a particular song and track itslicensing progress.

Hybrid Layout—a composer layout where both the CMP and MXE timings andnotes are conveniently presented simultaneously for easy comparison andcopying.

CueLinks—a unique tool that allows certain descriptors, icons, andcolors to be attached to cues based on story, location, character, andother user-defined tags.

4.0 STRUCTURAL OVERVIEW

FIG. 1 illustrates a computer-networking environment upon which anembodiment may be implemented. In FIG. 1, one or more client computers(clients) 101, 102, 103 are communicatively coupled with a servercomputer (server) 104 over network 100. The server 104 is additionallycommunicatively coupled with database 105. Although only a particularnumber of each element is depicted in FIG. 1, a practical environmentmay contain many more, even thousands or millions, of each of theelements depicted in FIG. 1. In addition, the arrangement of thecomputer-networking environment may differ from embodiment toembodiment. For example, the database 105 may be located offsite andavailable to the server 104 via network 100.

In an embodiment, client 101, 102, 103 represent software being hostedon a host computing device (not depicted). For example, desktop ormobile computing devices may execute instructions that perform thefunctions attributed to the client 101, 102, 103. As another example,client 101, 102, 103 may represent a mobile application executing on asmartphone. In other embodiments, client 101, 102, 103 may themselvesrepresent host computing devices containing hardware components thatperform the aforementioned functions. In an embodiment, client 101, 102,103 represent computing devices, such as the computing devices describedbelow in the section titled “Hardware Overview”. The client 101, 102,103 provides user interfaces or “layouts” to assist users to incollaboratively developing TV/film productions. In addition, the client101, 102, 103 collects information from the users regarding theproduction which is then sent over network 100 to server 104 or to otherexternal destinations. In some embodiments, the client 101, 102, 103 isa “thin” client designed to run the user interfaces, but is otherwiseconfigured to perform minimal processing and instead delegate tasks suchas retrieving and analyzing information to the server 104.

In an embodiment, network 100 represents any combination of one or morelocal networks, wide area networks, internetworks, or service providernetworks. Data exchanged over network 100, may be transferred using anynumber of network layer protocols, transportation layer protocols,and/or application layer protocols. In some embodiments, network 100represents one or more interconnected internetworks such as the publicinternet.

In an embodiment, server 104 represents software being hosted on aserver computing device (not depicted). For example, the server 104 maybe executing within a data center or a cloud storage/service system. Inanother embodiment, server 104 represents a host server containinghardware components for performing the functions attributed to theserver 104. In yet another embodiment, server 104 represents a computingdevice, such as the computing device described below in the sectiontitled “Hardware Overview”. The server 104 collects informationregarding a TV/film production from users via the client 101, 102, 103.The server 104 then uses the collected information to analyze theinformation and share certain information between different users, whilemaintaining the security of less public information. In addition, theserver 104 may use the information provided by the client 101, 102, 103to produce specialized reports and template emails to assist the usersof the client 101, 102, 103 with tasks related to TV/film production.

For the purpose of convenience, the term “client” without a particularreference numeral will refer to any of client 101, 102, or 103.Furthermore, the term “production management system” refers to thecollection of client 101, 102, 103, server 104, and database 105. Thus,if the production management system is described as performing a task,the task may be performed by any or all of the components comprising theproduction management system, depending on the embodiment. Thus, forexample, if the production management system is described as calculatingtotal expenses for a production, the step of calculating may beperformed by the client in one embodiment, the server 104 in anotherembodiment, or a combination of both in yet another embodiment.

In this arrangement, embodiments provide an integrated data collectionsystem that is configured to receive data values directly fromproduction personnel as production tasks are performed without the needfor personnel to record data on paper sheets for re-entry by other staffat another time. Consequently, important data relating to productiontasks becomes available in the database 105 far earlier in theproduction process and normally before the airdate or release date ofthe production. As a specific benefit, music cue sheets may be producedon or before the air date or a show or the release of a film—typicallyweeks or months earlier than with prior approaches—and may include datathat has been previously unavailable, such as start and stop times ofeach cue. The early availability of this data enables technicalprocesses that have not been previously possible, as detailed insubsequent sections, such as customization of advertisements in atelevision program based on the substantive content of a scene or otherscene detail, and offering sales of products, including music or otherproducts, based upon the specific placement of the products at aparticular start and end time in the program, the identity of performersin that scene at that particular start time and end time, and otherdata.

Embodiments further enhance the operating efficiency of a networkedcomputer system by permitting communication of data among variousparties to a production who are in independent organizations that do notnormally share data orally or via paper processes.

Embodiments can provide frame-based, accurate metadata about aproduction that is authoritatively tied to the timecode values of theproduction recording. Metadata may be obtained from productionprofessionals involved in any of music, costumes, props, casting, andother trades or professions. The metadata may be obtained during theprocess of production rather than after the airdate or release and maybe supplemented with frame-accurate timecode values to produce anauthoritative binding of timecode values to production values, qualitiesor abstractions.

5.0 DATABASE OVERVIEW

The database 105 stores information received by the server 104 for usein various features such as collaborative editing, reporting to varioususers or agencies, billing, automatic email generation, etc. Theinformation may be received from users of the client, but in other casesmay be automatically obtained from one or more other external datarepositories. For example, a PRO or PUB may make licensing informationand member lists available on an external database, which the server 104can query to extract and transform the information for insertion intothe database 105.

In an embodiment, the server 104 includes database software that managesaccess to the information stored in the database 105. For example, theserver 104 may execute software for managing relational or objectoriented databases, such as SQL, MySQL, FileMaker, etc. or softwarecustom designed in languages such as C++, Ruby on Rails, Java, VisualBasic, etc. The server 104 may also implement some functions inweb-based languages such as HTML and PHP for communicating with theclient. In other embodiments, the tasks performed by the server 104 maybe shared or divided among multiple specialized servers, such as aserver for authenticating the client, a server for managing the database105, a server for communicating information to the client, etc.

For the purpose of illustrating clear examples, the database 105 will beassumed to be a relational database. However, in other embodiments thedatabase 105 may also be an object oriented database, anobject-relational database, or other type of database.

In an embodiment, the database 105 includes a relationship graph thatfollows an ‘anchor/buoy’ method of connectivity, but may use a ‘spiderweb approach’ when appropriate. The naming conventions used in therelationship graph on the table occurrences (the buoy) are to firstdefine what the table occurrence is used for and then to define themaster table it references (the anchor). For example, table Offset_CUEmeans that the table occurrence ‘offset’ uses the table ‘CUE’ for itssubset of data. Table occurrences are generally used to collect andfilter a subset of information.

In an embodiment, the information depicted in the relationship graph isorganized into tables as follows:

-   -   GLOBALS: The GLOBALS table contains all the default values that        users can enter and the program can reference. The database 105        uses global fields and global variables in cases where the data        does not need to be saved or shared among multiple users.    -   EPISODE: At the center of the relationship graph 200 is the        table EPISODE″ In the database 105, EPISODE is the primary table        and can contain data for a TV series' individual episode, or a        feature film, web episode, made-for-TV movie, or any moving        picture production.    -   ACT: The ACT table holds act or reel numbers as records for use        by various layouts.    -   USE: The USE table holds cue attributes and marks a cue as        having certain attributes such as “Underscore”, “Source”,        “Song”, and whether or not the cue contains vocals.    -   ASSIGNEE: The ASSIGNEE table holds contact information for        composers (and others who supply or create original music). The        ASSIGNEE table also includes how an assignee (assuming he is a        composer) would have his information appear on a cue sheet. In        many cases, assignees are assigned cues by the CMP.    -   NOTES: The NOTES table holds fields containing notes for the        ‘Cue Review” layout as will be described more fully in a later        section.    -   CS_COMPOSERS: The CS_COMPOSERS table contains the composer        information for the CS layouts.    -   CS_PUBLISHERS: The CS_PUBLISHERS table contains the publisher        information for the CS layouts.    -   MUSICIANS: Holds series-wide (default) musician contact data and        an individual's union number and instrument played—for        population in the “EP_MUSICIAN” tables.    -   EP_MUSICIANS_UNION: The EP_MUSICIANS_UNION table holds union        musician contact data pulled from the MUSICIANS table, and        session information entered by users on a per episode basis.    -   EP_MUSICIANS_NON: The EP_MUSICIANS_NON table holds non-union        musician contact data pulled from the MUSICIANS table, and        session information entered by users on a per episode basis.    -   MISC_EXPENSE: The MISC_EXPENSE table contains user-defined        expenses within an episode.    -   SCENE: The SCENE table is used for the MSP and VDE layouts as        will be described more fully in later sections. The SCENE table        contains all the fields for scene information.    -   SCENECUE_JOIN: The SCENECUE_JOIN table is a join-table to assist        in converting scene numbers into cue numbers.    -   TRK_OPT_CELLS: The TRK_OPT_CELLS table contains all data        relating to a song/track (including the actual audio file) and        is used to implement option cells in the MSP layout as will be        described more fully in a later section.    -   TRK_COMPOSERS: The TRK_COMPOSERS table contains the cue sheet        data for composers of licensed (non-scored) music tracks, as        entered by the MSP or imported automatically from metadata or        external sources.    -   MSTR_QUOTE_LETTERS: The MSTR_QUOTE_LETTERS table contains data        and percentage splits of the master owners of licensed music, as        entered by the MSP, imported from metadata, or obtained from an        external source. The information in the MSTR_QUOTE_LETTERS table        is used to generate quote request letters for the MSP.    -   PUB_QUOTE_LETTERS: The PUB_QUOTE_LETTERS table contains data and        percentage splits of the publisher of licensed music, as entered        by the MSP, imported from metadata, or obtained from an external        source. The information in the PUB_QUOTE_LETTERS table is used        to generate quote request letters for the MSP.    -   CMB_QUOTE_LETTERS: The CMB_QUOTE_LETTERS stores the same        information as the MST_QUOTE_LETTERS and PUB_QUOTE_LETTERS        tables, but is used for the specific situation where the master        owner and publisher are the same entity.    -   MSTR_CONFIRMATION_LETTERS: Contains the same type of information        as the “MSTR_QUOTE_LETTERS” table, but is used to generate        confirmation letters for the MSP after a quote has been        approved.    -   PUB_CONFIRMATION_LETTERS: Contains the same type of information        as the “PUB_QUOTE_LETTERS” table, but is used to generate        confirmation letters for the MSP after a quote has been        approved.    -   CMB_CONFIRMATION_LETTERS: Contains the same type of information        as the “CMB_QUOTE_LETTERS” table, but is used to generate        confirmation letters for the MSP after a quote has been        approved.    -   CNTCT_MASTERS: “The CNCT_MASTERS table contains contact        information for the master owner and ownership splits for        licensed (non-scored) music tracks, as entered by the MSP,        automatically from metadata, or obtained from an external        source.    -   CNTCT_PUBLISHERS: “The CNCT_PUBLISHERS table contains contact        information for the publisher and ownership splits for licensed        (non-scored) music tracks, as entered by the MSP, automatically        from metadata, or obtained from an external source.

6.0 SECURITY

In an embodiment, the production management system is designed to letcollaborators share data that is common, while keeping secure theirconfidential data. The following is one example of how the users may begrouped and privilege sets defined:

-   -   CMP_RW: Composer-level access, read and write privileges. This        privilege grants full access to all CMP and MXE layouts and        data.    -   CMP_R: Composer-level access, read only privileges. This        privilege grants read-only access to all CMP and MXE layouts.    -   CMP_RW/CMP_R (No Money): Composer-level access with the        exception of monetary data and layouts. This permission may be        suitable for a composer's assistant who is tasked to help with        job tracking, but is not allowed to have access to financial        information.    -   MXE_RW: Music Editor-level access, read, and write privileges.        The user is restricted to MXE specific layouts, but can view and        edit some shared data (as other users can view and edit some of        the MXE's shared data).    -   MXE_R: Music Editor-level access, read only privileges. This        privilege may be suited for a MXE's assistant.    -   MSP_RW: Music Supervisor-level access, read and write        privileges. This privilege grants full access to all MSP        layouts.    -   MSP_R: Music Supervisor-level access, read only privileges. This        privilege may be suited for a MSP's assistant.    -   EDR_RW: Video Editor-level access, read and write privileges.        This privilege grants full access, read, and write privileges to        all VDE specific layouts including continuity reports.    -   EDR_R: Video editor-level access, read only privileges. This        privilege may be suitable for a VDE's assistant.

In some embodiments, users are divided into various user groups for theproduction. FIG. 20 illustrates an example user group master hierarchy2000 according to an embodiment. As depicted in FIG. 20, members fallinginto different user groups receive different permissions, and thus mayhave access to different sets of tools (e.g. layouts) and data. Forexample, the user groups may include wardrobe, 1^(st) assistant director(1^(st) AD), Hair/Makeup, Prop Master etc. The users in user groups mayextend beyond those individuals which are specifically involved inmusic/video and can provide frame-accurate metadata and time stampingfor virtually any kind of product that may eventually be involved in theproduction process.

7.0 SYSTEM WIDE ASSUMPTIONS AND TOOLS

In some embodiments, versioning and simultaneous managing of multiplepicture/video edits in the production management system, as well aslayouts, can be linked to an identifier such as an episode number. Inthe case of a film or a single-episode TV production (not a series), theproduction may be divided into various stages with edits associated withthem (e.g. ‘rough cut,’ ‘director's cut,’ ‘locked cut,’ etc). In anembodiment, each tool and layout provided by the production managementsystem supports versioning and archiving, with the ability for a user(e.g. an administrator) to switch between versions. For example, whentimecode values are used, the timecode values can be version-aware andwill update or change when the production management system switchesfrom version to version. Similarly, scene orders (and scene inclusionitself) may be different as versions change, and the productionmanagement system adapts accordingly. The same also holds for cue orderand inclusion. The versions may be explicitly set by the user (e.g. viaa widget) or may be set automatically, such as by an automatic backuptool that records a new version every set period of time or afterspecified events.

In some embodiments, each user group has its own home page layout andcustom navigation. Each group adheres to a permissions schema wherebythere is a single group admin role and multiple group users—all flowingdown from the Master Admin for the production management system. AMaster Admin assigns the various group admins; a group admin assignsroles and permissions for members of that group.

In an embodiment, throughout the production management system, there areone or more communication tools that provide users various ways tocommunicate among one another (a instant message application, chatwindow, review notes, auto-email, etc). In some cases, the communicationtools will be context-aware (keeping track of which scenes, cues, etc.has focus, who gave a particular note or posted a particular comment,etc.) The production management system may also utilize time-stampingand/or archival of communications as needed.

8.0 LAYOUT OVERVIEW

In an embodiment, the client follows a visual design paradigm wherebylayouts are used to limit the information provided to a user based onthe job or task that the user needs to perform. For example, the layoutmay be based on the user's level of permission or on the user's job(CMP, MSP, MXE, etc.). For clarity, the user interacting with a layoutmay be described with reference to the role to which the layout catersin practice. For example, the MSP worksheet layout may be described asbeing utilized by the MSP. However, the layouts are not necessarilyrestricted to being used by any particular user.

Keeping the layouts relatively free of superfluous data helps keep theuser interface cleaner and easier to read. Furthermore, datadescriptions can be visually distinguished from the data itself (e.g. byshading or coloring) to make it easier for the user to read the dataprovided by the layouts. The layouts may also include various widgets,such as dropdown menus, to help the user to enter information when aselect number of valid choices can be entered for a given field.

In an embodiment, the production management system aids users byautomatically entering redundant information and default values, whichthe user can then use as a starting point to begin the editing process.In some embodiments, the production management system follows a dataentry paradigm whereby once data is entered (e.g. for a particularepisode) that data remains fixed, even if the default values for thatdata is later modified.

FIG. 3A illustrates a general layout 300 for a user interface providedby the client according to an embodiment. The general layout 300includes title information 301, layout widgets 302, episode widgets 303,series widgets 304, and layout content area 305. In other embodiments,the general layout 300 may contain different widgets than those depictedin FIG. 3A or may include the same widgets in a different order thanthey appear in FIG. 3A. For example, different users may be providedwith different widgets (linking to different options or layouts)depending on the user's job or permissions level.

The title information 301 displays information regarding the production,such as the series title and an icon (or image) identifying the series.However, in some embodiments, the title information 301 may also displaythe name of the layout currently being shown in the layout content area305.

In an embodiment, the episode widgets 303 and series widgets 304 can beselected by the user to cause the client to present a correspondinglayout in the layout content area 305. For example, the episode widgets303 may provide access to layouts pertaining to a particular episode,whereas series widgets 304 may provide access to layouts pertaining tothe series generally. As the user selects a new widget, the clientupdates the layout content area 305 to display the layout associatedwith the newly selected widget. In some embodiments, the user may bepresented with a particular layout by default and may then navigate (viathe episode widgets 303 and series widgets 304) to a new layout. In someembodiments, the client provides the user with an option to modify whichlayout is shown by default.

The layout widgets 302 contain widgets which control functionalityrelated to the currently selected layout, such as uploading/exportingdata, adding/deleting episodes, etc. Since the layout widgets 302 arespecific to a given layout, the layout widgets 302 may be updated by theclient depending on the layout selected by the user. In some cases, theselected layout may not have any functionality linked to the layoutwidgets 302. In such cases, the client may display the layout widgets302 as blank or may not display the layout widgets 302 at all.

In some embodiments, the layout widgets 302, episode widgets 303, andseries widgets 304 form a banner that is displayed at the top of theuser interface regardless of the layout currently selected for displayin the layout content area 305. Thus, the banner serves as a tool forthe user to navigate the various displays and options provided by theproduction management system.

In some embodiments, the production management system associates certainusers or layouts with a particular color. For example, the layouts forthe MXE may be displayed as tinted one color, and the layouts for theCMP may be tinted another color. As a result, the color provides a quickvisual marker to help the user understand where they are when navigatingthe layouts of the production management system. Furthermore, dataentered by a user may be displayed with the user's associated color whenimported into another user's layout. As a result, users can intuitivelygrasp the source of the data without further inquiry.

9.0 SERIES SETUP LAYOUT

FIG. 3B illustrates the general layout 300 when the widget associatedwith the series setup layout 306 has been selected according to anembodiment. In an embodiment, the series setup layout 306 is a CMPspecific layout and thus is only available to the CMP or a user withappropriate permissions. The series setup layout 306 includes multipletabs 307 which can be used to access different sets of informationfields. When a particular tab is selected, the client updates to displaythe fields associated with the selected tab.

In an embodiment, the series setup layout 306 is where the defaultvalues that the client uses to automatically populate other layouts areset. For example, the data filled out in the series setup layout 306 maybe used to fill in default values for the fields in episode specificlayouts. In some embodiments, editing a default value field within theseries setup layout 306 changes the defaults for any newly createdepisodes, but does not change the fields for episodes which have alreadybeen created. In addition, information that is automatically populatedinto layouts as defaults act as a starting point for users working onthe episode, which may be customized as needed.

In an embodiment, when a user enters information into the fields of theseries setup layout 306, the client sends that information to the server104 for storage in the database 105. Thus, when auto-populating fields,the client can contact the server 104 to retrieve the information storedin the database 105. In some embodiments, the process of saving theinformation to the database 105 may occur dynamically after each fieldhas been entered. However, in other embodiments the process may bebatched, such as by saving entered information to the database 105 everyset period of time or in response to a user selecting an option to savethe information. Although the aforementioned saving techniques aredescribed in reference to series setup layout 306, the saving techniquesare applicable to information entered into any layout described herein.

In an embodiment, the tabs 307 grant access to one or more of thefollowing sets of information:

-   -   General: In the general tab the user can set up a variety of        information, including series title, and the names/addresses of        people working on the production (CMP, MXE, MSP, VDE, etc.). The        general tab also allows the user to upload and select the icon        displayed within the title information 301, such as a logo        representing the series or film being produced. The general tab        also includes fields where the user can input series-wide        budgetary information.    -   Assignees: In the assignee tab the user is able to enter        information for assignees, such as name, nickname (for use in        other layouts), SS# or EIN#, company (if applicable), function        (e.g. ‘composer’, ‘track editor’, etc.), billing rate per-minute        of original music to be paid, etc. In some embodiments the        number of assignees that a user is able to enter may be limited        to a specific number, such as ten or twenty. However, in other        embodiments the number of assignees allowed to be entered may be        unlimited. In an embodiment, the assignee tab allows the user to        associate an assignee with a particular color. The client then        uses the color to distinguish information or comments related to        the assignee in other layouts. The assignee tab also allows the        user to define how the assignee should appear on a cue sheet. In        some cases, the assignee tab allows the user to associate        multiple names with a single assignee, such as the case where a        team of composers market themselves as a single entity. In        addition, the assignee tab also allows the user to assign        percentage splits for each member since each member may belong        to a different PRO and need to be compensated separately or in        varying amounts.    -   Musicians: In the musicians tab the user may define any number        of musicians that are to appear in each episode of the series.        For example, the user may define musicians by contact info, SS#        or EIN#, company (if applicable), and instrument(s). In        addition, the musicians tab allows the user to designate a        musician as union or non-union. If the musician is a member of a        union, the musicians tab displays additional fields for union #        and local # which can be populated by default or filled in by        the user. In an embodiment, each musician is displayed with an        ‘all-episode’ checkbox (or other widget) that allows the user to        set whether the musician is to be automatically included in        episode specific layouts when a new episode is created.        Furthermore, the user may enter a default amount that the        musician is to be paid for each episode, which will also be        exported to the appropriate fields of episode specific layouts        upon the creation of a new episode.    -   Reports & Notify: In the reports & notify tab the user can        define names, email addresses, and titles for people who should        be notified when certain events happen (e.g. closing of an        episode). Individuals defined in the reports & notify tab may        receive any or all of the following: payout reports, union        reports, episode is closed notifications, episode is ready to be        invoiced notifications, payment received notifications, etc.        Additionally, the user can customize the language in the email        body for each type of notification, and has the option to define        CCs to be included on the report outs and notifications.    -   Cue Sheet: In the cue sheet tab the user can define defaults for        data on the cue sheet that is unlikely to change from episode to        episode. For example, the user may enter writer/publisher names,        PRO affiliations, and splits for the ‘main title’, ‘end credits’        and ‘logo’. The user may also enter default publishers for all        underscore cues. As a result, the production management system        saves the user from the labor intensive task of manually        entering the data for each episode for cases where a particular        assignee or assignees will repeatedly be responsible for cues in        the series. In some embodiments, the information entered by the        user in the cue sheet tab appears in a dropdown list in the        spotting layout (described later) which allows the user to        associate a cue with an assignee and automatically fill in the        pertinent fields.    -   Permissions: In the permissions tab the CMP is able to create,        modify, or delete users as well as set the permission level        available to each user. For example, a new user may be created        by specifying a user name, a password, and permission set for        the new user.

10.0 SERIES OVERVIEW LAYOUT

FIG. 4 illustrates the general layout 300 when the widget associatedwith the series overview layout 400 has been selected according to anembodiment. In FIG. 4, the series overview layout 400 includes a list ofall episodes for the series and information related to each episode. Forexample, the information for each episode may include the number andlength of composer-provided or production-provided cues, episode gross,episode net, and subtotals. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, theinformation is provided in column format, where each row represents anepisode and each column represents a feature of the episode. However, inother embodiments the information presented in the series overviewlayout 400 may be displayed in a different format. In an embodiment, theseries overview layout 400 is a composer-specific view.

11.0 EPISODE SETUP LAYOUT

FIG. 5 illustrates the general layout 300 when the widget associatedwith the episode setup layout 500 has been selected according to anembodiment. In FIG. 5 the episode setup layout 500 includes a number oftabs 501 (or other widgets or views) associated with different sets offields. In an embodiment, the information included within the tabs 501of the episode setup layout 500 may be filled in automatically withdefault values provided in corresponding fields of the series setuplayout 306. In some embodiments, when one of the episode widgets 303 isselected, the client adds an episode navigation widget 502, which theuser can utilize to select an episode for which the episode setup layout500 should display information. Furthermore, when the episode setuplayout 500 has been selected, the layout widgets 302 update to includeoptions for deleting and adding an episode.

In some embodiments, the episode setup layout 500 (and potentially otherepisode-specific layouts) includes an episode closing widget 503 forclosing/reopening an episode. The collaborative nature of the productionmanagement system creates the potential for one user to modifyinformation for an episode after another user has already assumed thatthe information has been finalized. As a result, in some embodiments,the production management system offers a safeguard to protect theintegrity of the information. Thus, the episode closing widget 503 locksusers from being able to change the fields of closed episodes and alsocauses the production management system to generate one or more reportsor notifications. In some embodiments, the episode closing widget 503 isrestricted to only be accessible the CMP.

In an embodiment, the tabs 501 provide the user with the option ofaccessing one or more of the following sets of fields:

-   -   General: In the general tab the user can set up a variety of        information including episode title, due dates, and the        names/addresses of people working on the episode. The contact        information for certain people, such as the CMP, MXE, MSP, etc.        may be copied from the series setup layout 306 to save the user        from having to manually enter the contact information. In        addition, the general tab also includes fields where the user        can input episode-specific information such as the technical        specifications pertaining to the video and to the deliverables.    -   Episode Musicians: In the episode musicians tab the user can        choose to add union or non-union musicians as defined in the        series setup layout 306 (e.g. via a dropdown list) or the user        may enter musicians manually. If the ‘all-episode’ checkbox had        been selected in the series setup layout 306 for a particular        musician, that musician is automatically imported into the        episode musician tab when the episode is created. The episode        musicians tab also provides additional fields for musicians,        such as number of hours worked on the episode, the instrument        the musician played, or any other notes that a user may want to        add.    -   Report Recipients: In the report recipients tab the user can        define names, email addresses, and titles for people who should        be notified when certain events happen (e.g. closing of an        episode). Individuals defined in the reports & notify tab may        receive any or all of the following: payout reports, union        reports, episode is closed notifications, episode is ready to be        invoiced notifications, payment received notifications, etc.        Additionally, the user can customize the language in the email        body for each type of notification, and has the option to define        CCs to be included in the reports and notifications. If any of        the aforementioned information had been defined in the Report &        Notify tab of the series setup layout 306, the client imports        that information into the Report Recipients tab when the episode        is created. In addition, the report recipients tab provides        users with the ability to enter general notes that are then        included in layouts or generated reports. For example, the notes        may be included in the vicinity of the Assignee's cue        assignments in the spotting layout, or may be included in cue        sheets produced by the user who created the note. The report        recipients tab also tracks how many times an episode has been        ‘closed’ and whether or not notification emails have been sent.        If the user reopens the episode, makes a change, and then closes        the episode again, a dialog box lets the user know that the        episode had been closed before and how many (if any) reports and        notifications have already been sent. The user may then use that        information to manually alert recipients that there may be an        update or the client can provide the option of automatically        sending out an alert to those on the recipients list.

In an embodiment, the episode setup layout 500 is available to both theMXE and the CMP, but provides different functionality for each role. Forexample, the episode closing widget 503 may be reserved for the CMP andnot available on the MXE's version of the episode setup layout 500.Furthermore, the MXE's version may be restricted from modifyingparticular fields in the episode setup layout 500 or may be restrictedfrom making modifications altogether (read-only).

12.0 SPOTTING OVERVIEW

Spotting is the process of viewing a production and determining wheremusic needs to be included. Timecode refers to a stamp that marks eachframe of video with a number representing a point in time, such ashours, minutes, seconds, and frames (hh:mm:ss:ff).

In an embodiment, the spotting process begins with the VDE creating acontinuity report specifying the scenes that will be included in theepisode. In some cases, the VDE may indicate temporary music at scenesand times where the CMP/MXE should include music. The continuity reportis then provided to the MXE who performs the initial spotting bynumbering and naming cues, along with start and end timecode values.Data, as recorded in the continuity layout throughout the editingprocess, then flows to the spotting layout to populate fields in thespotting notes. The MXE provides the initial spotting notes to the CMP,who reviews and edits the MXE's spotting notes. During the closing of anepisode, the MXE performs a final editing revision to the CMP's revisedspotting notes to reflect how the cues actually appear in the finalproduction. This final spotting information can then be used by theproduction management system to generate cue sheets and other reports.

When numbering the cues, the production management system allows for thetraditional cue numbering industry standard, whereby “2m3” means “act 2,scene 3” (the ‘m’ stands for music). For sorting purposes, theproduction management system assigns a unique, calculated value to eachcue, whose calculation is based on the traditional numbering schema.This value is typically hidden from the user. For example, theproduction management system may associate the cue “1m4” with “104.052”,specifying a unique cue in act 1, scene 4. In this way, the productionmanagement system can sort cues based on either creation order, ornumerical order by act/scene. In some embodiments, the cue numbering maybe calculated differently depending on the type of video production.

In an embodiment, once the MXE is finished with spotting, the MXE canselect an option which auto-informs (e.g. via email) both the CMP andthe MSP (and attaches forms where appropriate) so that both parties maybegin their respective work on the production. Notifications orinforming, as described herein, may occur via email, instant messaging,or via software-implemented communication processes. Further, when aspecific example of an electronic communication mechanism is describedin relation to a feature (e.g. email), the feature can also utilizeother electronic communication mechanisms in other embodiments.

In an embodiment, the production management system incorporates atimecode calculator. Once timecode start and end times are entered, theproduction management system automatically calculates the cue lengthbased on the difference between the start time and the end time.However, although a production may have one “primary” set of timecodes(“timecode path”) for the cues of a TV episode/film, the productionmanagement system may maintain separate but related timecode paths fordifferent users or functions. For example, the production managementsystem may maintain a timecode path for the MXE, a timecode path for theCMP, and a timecode path for the cue sheet. The different timecode pathsmay be edited independently of one another, but the default values foreach path are based on the path that preceded it. For example, thedefault CMP timecode path may be based on the MXE timecode path and thedefault cue sheet timecode path may be based on the CMP timecode path.

In practice, the independent timecode paths allow the MXE to enterspotting timecode information for cues in the MXE spotting layout, withthe CMP having the option to copy some or all of those cue timecodesinto the CMP spotting layout. The CMP can then change the values asneeded, without changing the MXE's original values. The CMP further hasthe option of sending the new values back to the MXE. Since the MXEoften works for the CMP, the power to change values (and choose if theMXE layout should include those revised values) rests with the CMP. Oncethe CMP is satisfied with the spotting notes, the CMP can “lock” thespotting, which means that the MXE can no longer alter the spotting datafor the episode in the MXE spotting layout. An indicator on the MXElayout specifies when spotting is locked, and if the MXE attempts tomake a change the client displays a warning dialog which informs the MXEthat the CMP must be contacted to unlock spotting before changes can bemade.

When it comes time to finalize the cue sheet at the end of a production,that job often falls back to the MXE. In an embodiment, the cue sheettimecode is auto-populated by the CMP's timecode path. The productionmanagement system then allows the MXE to make alterations to thetimecode values during the final mix of a production to reflect the cueswhich actually made it into the final mix. In practice, the CMP is oftennot aware of these last-minute changes performed to the cue sheettimecode values. However, the MXE's editing does not affect the CMP'stimecode path or the MXE's original timecode path. As a result, theMXE's and CMP's timecode paths remain stored in the productionmanagement system for archival purposes in case review of those paths isneeded at a later time. As a result, the production management systemmaintains data related to the MXE's original spotting, the CMP'srevision to the spotting, and the final spotting that appears on the cuesheet for the production.

13.0 SPOTTING LAYOUT

FIG. 6 illustrates the general layout 300 when the widget associatedwith the spotting layout 600 has been selected according to anembodiment.

The spotting layout 600 contains timing information for the cues of aproduction. In an embodiment, the cues are displayed with a scroll bar601 (or other widget) that can be selected by the user to scroll throughthe cues. The spotting layout 600 also includes a cue summary area 602,where the client provides summary information, totals, and dataassociated with the cues defined in the spotting layout 600. In anembodiment, the cue information area 603 contains data pertaining to thecues such as the cue numbers, cue names, start/end notes, usesinformation, vocal information, ‘provided by’ and ‘existing or created’dropdowns, etc. The timecode information area 604 contains the starttime, end time, length, and use attributes (e.g. “underscore”, “song”,“underscore (tracked)”, “Source”, “Source (On Camera)”, “Song”, “MainTitle”, “End Credits”, “Logo”, etc.) related to a cue.

In an embodiment, both the CMP and MXE (or user's with appropriatepermissions) have access to the spotting layout 600. However, theoptions available to each user and the functionality of the spottinglayout 600 may differ depending on the user's role. For example, the CMPversion of the spotting layout 600 may contain a spot locking widget 605and an episode closing widget 606 that may not be available to the MXEversion of the spotting layout 600. The spot locking widget 605 can beselected by the CMP to lock or unlock the spotting of the currentepisode. The episode closing widget 606 can be selected by the CMP toclose or reopen the current episode.

In an embodiment, when values in the cue information area 603 aremodified by the CMP, the changes are automatically propagated to theMXE's version of the spotting layout 600. For example, the data storedin the cue information area 603 for both versions of the spotting layout600 may reference the same “CUE” table in the database 105. Thus,modifying the fields in the CMP layout automatically causes the MXE'sversion to incorporate the same values for those fields. However, theinformation stored in the timecode information area 604 is maintainedseparately for both the CMP and the MXE. For example, the fields of thetimecode information area 604 for each user may be stored in a separatetable in the database 105. Thus, modifying the fields in the timecodeinformation area 604 in one user's layout does not automatically affectthe data displayed by the other user's layout. Similarly, the datacontained in the note information area 607 may be maintained separatelyfor each user.

In an embodiment, when the CMP initially accesses the spotting layout600 for an episode the client provides blank fields for the cueinformation area 603 and timecode information area 604. However, thespotting layout 600 provides the CMP with layout widgets 302 forimporting/exporting data between the CMP's layout and the MXE's layoutfor non-shared information areas, such as the timecode information area604 and the note information area 607. Thus, the CMP can automaticallypopulate the fields in the timecode information area 604 and/or cueinformation area 603 by copying over the corresponding fields from theMXE's version of the spotting layout 600. The CMP is then free to modifythose fields without risk of overwriting the MXE's work. Once the CMPhas finished editing the fields, the CMP can then use the layout widgets302 to automatically export the data back to the MXE's version of thespotting layout 600.

In some cases, the MXE and the CMP may be working on the spotting layout600 concurrently. Thus, in an embodiment, the production managementsystem implements a conflict resolution mechanism to ensure theintegrity of the data. As the CMP and MXE work on their respectivelayouts (and before spotting is locked by the CMP), if there exists adifference between the MXE timecode values (and/or notes) and the CMPtimecode values (and/or notes) for a particular cue, the client 104provides two arrow widgets to the CMP that appear on the right hand sideof the row representing the affected cue. In the event that the CMPselects the first arrow widget, the production management system copiesthe CMPs timecode information area 604 and/or cue information area 603for the cue to the MXE's version of the spotting layout 600. In theevent that the CMP selects the second arrow widget, the productionmanagement system replace the CMP's timecode information area 604 and/ornote information area 607 for the cue with the corresponding fields fromthe MXE's version of the spotting layout 600.

When the CMP closes an episode via the episode closing widget 606, thefields in the spotting layout 600 are used to auto-populate fields forthe cue sheet. For example, the timecode start time, end time, andlength may be exported automatically to the cue sheet.

In an embodiment, the timecode information area 604 includes a vocalcheckbox 608, which when checked indicates that the cue has a vocalcomponent. When the vocal checkbox 608 is checked, the client displaysthe cue on the CS along with a “By” (background-vocal) or “VV”(visual-vocal marker). In addition, the timecode information area 604also includes a use attribute dropdown menu 609 that allows a user todesignate how the cue will be used. The use attributes and/or vocalmarkers selected by the user are then represented on the cue sheet inthe vicinity of the associated cue.

In an embodiment, the cue information area 603 includes a drop-down listof assignees that may be assigned to the cue. For example, the clientmay include an entry in the drop-down list for each assignee defined inthe series setup layout 306. For cases where the cue is analready-existing piece of music provided by the MXE or MSP, an assigneemay not be required and the field can be left blank. As an added visualaid, the client displays each assignee in a unique color defined in theseries setup layout 306. In an embodiment, the client displays the coloras a flag on the cue (e.g. on the right or left-hand side of the cue'scolumn) once an assignee selection has been made. In an embodiment, thecue information area 603 also includes a “create/existing” dropdown menuthat indicates whether the composer needs to compose an original pieceof music or the cue is an already-existing track. Furthermore, the cueinformation area 603 includes a “provided by” dropdown menu thatindicates whether a cue needs to be provided by the producer (as in thecase with licensed music not provided by the composer) or if the cueneeds to be provided by the composer (whether or not it is existing andlicensed or originally composed). In an embodiment, the client displaysany cue that is marked both with “create” and “composer” with a borderbox to provide a visual sign that the CMP needs to supply newly-createdoriginal music for that cue.

In some embodiments, the user can select a cue number to visually flagthe cue (e.g. with a border box or other visually distinguishablemarker) for later work or review.

In an embodiment, the cue summary area 602 contains information thatsummarizes the cues. Information included in the cue summary area mayinclude: assignee starts, music starts per act (counts), “uses”subtotals, composer provided cues (further distilled into ‘create’ or‘existing’), production-provided (further distilled into ‘create’ or‘existing’), grand total, etc.

In an embodiment, the client allows a user to select the name of anassignee in the “assignee starts” section of the cue summary area 602 toautomatically generate an email to that assignee with a PDF (PortableDocument Format) of the assignee's cues for that assignee to address.The client automatically populates the subject of the email with theseries name, episode name, and episode number.

In an embodiment, the spotting layout 600 provides a “Master PDF” button(or other widget) that will generate a PDF containing all cues for aparticular episode, with the option of displaying assignees for eachcue, which can then be printed or emailed or otherwise communicated.

In an embodiment, the spotting layout 600 provides an option to the userto mark and group cues according to user-definable text, such as acharacter name or a reoccurring theme. In another embodiment, the clientenables users to view the video of the TV/film production within thespotting layout 600. For instance, an additional column may be added tothe spotting layout 600 containing clips of the production to assist theMXE/CMP when performing spotting. Furthermore, the client may allow auser to select a given cue and have the video automatically locate tothe timecode value of that cue in that specific version of the video oredit.

In an embodiment, the client provides alternative views for the spottinglayout 600. For example, the client may provide an option or widget thatallows the user to view the spotting layout 600 without the cue summaryarea 602 and/or without the cues being displayed in a tab, but rather ina standard list format. As another example, the client may provide ahybrid layout that contains information from both the CMP and the MXEsimultaneously. As a result, the user is able to review his/her owntimings and notes alongside the other user's timing and notes.Particularly for the CMP, this option can be useful when choosing whichtimings and notes should be exported to the MXE's version of thespotting layout 600. Thus, during a spotting session, the CMP and MXEcan each be at their own workstation, with the CMP being able to view acontinuously updated cue list from the MXE, thus streamlining thespotting process.

In an embodiment, the MXE's version of the spotting layout 600 differsfrom the CMP's version in the following ways: 1) The MXE is preventedfrom viewing and selecting assignees, 2) The MXE is prevented fromcopying data from the CMP, or sending data to the CMP (this type oftransfer has to be initiated by the CMP), 3) If the CMP has lockedspotting or closed the episode, the MXE cannot make further changes inthe spotting layout 600, 4) When the MXE has finished providing spottingnotes, an option is available to notify the CMP via email, 5) The MXEhas no access to the hybrid layout discussed earlier, and 6) The MXE maynot have permission to lock or close an episode.

In an embodiment, the MXE's version (or the CMP's version) of thespotting layout 600 includes an option for automatically converting theVDE's continuity report (discussed later) into an initial set of cues.For example, the VDE may indicate in the continuity report one or moreplaces where temporary or placeholder music has been entered. Thus, whenthe MXE selects the option to automatically populate cues, theproduction management system can inspect the continuity layout and add acue for each place where temporary music has been indicated. Theproduction management system may also automatically fill in defaultnames (e.g. the name of the temporary song), start time, end time, cuenumber and other fields for the automatically generated cue. In someembodiments, the production management system may provide the MXE withan option to view a scene assignment layout (described more fully in alater section) that displays the cues and the scenes indicated by theVDE in the continuity layout side by side. Thus, allowing the user todiscern which cues are included in which scenes. In some embodiments,the VDEs continuity report may specify whether temporary music needs tobe scored or licensed and the cues generated from the report may bedisplayed with a marker indicating the requirements (e.g. a cue thatneeds scoring may be displayed in blue and a cue that needs licensingmay be displayed in red). In some embodiments, the spotting layout 600provides an option to the MXE to specify how multiple occurrences oftemporary music is to be handled. For example, multiple tracks oftemporary music can be aggregated into one cue, or each can be added asa separate cue. In another embodiment, the MXE is provided the option ofeither performing the temporary music to cue conversion via a batchconvert for the entire episode, or may specify to perform the conversionon a scene by scene basis.

In some embodiments, the spotting layout 600 provides an option to bringup a CueLinks layout that allows certain descriptors, icons and colorsto be attached to cues based on story, location, character, and otheruser-defined tags. FIG. 17 illustrates a CueLinks layout 1700 accordingto an embodiment. In the CueLinks layout 1700 there is a main link andmany sublinks are definable for each cue. This provides additionalcontext for each music cue that helps the composer create thearchitecture for the score and also has subsequent value for otherpurposes for users. For example, the CueLinks layout 1700 is valuablefor archival purposes, particularly when production studios want torepurpose music they own at a future time and need a way to searchtracks they have created, used, and/or licensed previously. Furthermore,the information provided by the CueLinks layout 1700 can help givefurther context to music marketed to consumers, and thus may be includedin a report directed towards product placement advertisers. For example,a consumer could buy music associated with a particular character,location, or story point. The CueLinks layout 1700 can also be displayedin MSP layouts to provide context to licensed music or music to belicensed.

In some embodiments, the production management system tracks how closethe end of one cue entered into the spotting layout 600 is to the startof another cue. If the start of one cue is within a user-definedthreshold of the end of another cue, the user is informed. For example,when sending assignments to assignees, each assignee could be notifiedin emails or reports generated by the production management system ofcues that fall within the threshold so they can perform checks on key,tempo, length of fadeout, etc.

14.0 TIMECODE OFFSET LAYOUT

FIG. 7 illustrates the general layout 300 when the widget associatedwith the offset layout 700 has been selected according to an embodiment.

In many cases, a video edit (the ‘cut’) may change after a composer hasfinished spotting and has begun his work. With timecode values no longermatching the previous cut, the composer has traditionally been forced tomanually go through the cut to calculate the new timings. This processwould sometimes take hours to complete and even then would provide noguarantee that the timings would not change yet again. As a result, thecomposer might be required to stop his work until such details have beenresolved.

In an embodiment, the production management system helps to alleviatesuch issues via the offset layout 700. For example, one or two scenesmay be lengthened or shortened. The offset layout 700 includes an offsetmodifier widget 701 that allows a user to choose a timecode value to addor subtract from the current spotted time. In an embodiment, the userinputs the timecode value into the offset modifier widget 701, selectswhether to add or subtract from the dropdown menu 702, and selects (e.g.highlights) the cues for which the offset should apply. In response, theclient presents the user with a confirmation dialog to confirm thechange. If the user chooses to execute the change, the productionmanagement system adjusts the selected cues' timecode by the offsetamount.

15.0 CUE REVIEW LAYOUT

FIG. 8 illustrates the general layout 300 when the widget associatedwith the cue review layout 800 has been selected according to anembodiment.

The cue review layout 800 allows users to keep track of review notes,cue approvals, and cue completions. In an embodiment, the cue reviewlayout 800 maintains an individual set of review notes for each sessionthat is then distributable to individual assignees (e.g. composers,musicians, assistants, orchestrators, or others defined by the user).

In an embodiment, the user selects, via a drop box (or other widget),which assignee's cues to review. In response, the client displays thatassignee's cues in the cue review layout 800. The cue review layout 800indicates how many cues there are for the selected assignee and displayseach cue with a number of radio buttons (or other widgets) that mayinclude (for example):

-   -   “Not Submitted”—A radio button indicating that the CMP has yet        to review the cue.    -   “Notes”—A radio button indicating that the CMP is in the process        of giving notes on the cue.    -   “Approved”—A radio button indicating that the CMP has marked the        cue as approved and finished.

In an embodiment, the right side of the cue review layout 800 displays anotes area 801 for the user to submit notes related to a given assignee.The notes area 801 is a continually-scrollable field able to hold anynumber of notes, displayed in the order of creation with the mostcurrent note at the top.

Within a given cue, the user is able to select the notes icon 802 tobegin the review process. In response, the client switches the radiobuttons to indicate ‘notes’ and places a timestamp in the notes fieldwith the cue number in the vicinity. In addition, the client parks theuser's curser to the right of the cue number to ready the user to begintyping their review notes.

To approve the notes, the user can select a checkmark widget 803 next tothe given cue. In response, the client adds a cue number and a shortsentence or word indicating that the cue has been approved to the notesarea 801 for the cue. In addition, the client adds a graphic orindicator, such as a large green checkmark, to the row representing thecue.

Once the user has completed entering notes, the user can choose to emailthe notes to the assignee by selecting a mail icon 804 in the notes area801. When the mail icon 804 is selected by the user, the client presentsa dialog to the user asking if the user wants to send all the notes forthe assignee, or just the notes that have not previously been sent tothe assignee. After obtaining this information from the user, the clientopens the user's email, creates a new message, and populates the body ofthe message with the appropriate notes. In addition, the client alsoadds a timestamp to the top of the notes area 801 indicating when thisround of notes has been completed and if the email contained all thenotes below or just the most recent notes. In other embodiments, theassignee can view the notes via a client of the production managementsystem or can access the notes via external software.

In an embodiment, the notes area 801 includes a trash can icon 805 todelete all notes for the assignee and a stamp icon 806 to manually placea timestamp in the notes area 801 at any time.

16.0 BILLING AND EXPENSES LAYOUT

FIG. 9 illustrates the general layout 300 when the widget associatedwith the billing and expenses layout 900 has been selected according toan embodiment.

In an embodiment, the billing and expenses layout 900 tracks expensesrelating to the production. In some cases, the user may have independentsoftware, such as Quicken or Quickbooks, for managing invoicing andexpenses. Thus, the expense information may be inserted manually intothe billing and expenses layout 900 or may be imported automaticallyfrom or exported to an external software program via inter-applicationcommunication mechanisms such as APIs (Application ProgrammingInterfaces).

The billing and expenses layout 900 includes fields for the totalbudgeted amount for the current episode. The user may enter the ‘totalincome’ that is being received for the episode, and may also enter somesubsets of that amount: assignee pay, bonus pay, and the pay for unionmusicians (e.g. provided by the musician contractor, if available). Theproduction management system uses these amounts to perform calculationsfor the rest of the billing and expenses layout 900 and for generatingreports in other layouts.

The billing and expenses layout 900 includes a summary area 901 whichdisplays a summary of expenses entered by the user, imported from anexternal source, or calculated by the production management system. Inan embodiment, the summary area 901 includes the expenses mentionedpreviously (assignee pay, bonus pay, and union musicians) and calculatedamounts for non-union musicians and ‘other’ expenses. In addition, thesummary area 901 may display the total income for the episode minus allexpenses. The billing and expenses layout 900 also includes a workflowarea 902 for indicating when the episode has been paid and the date ofpayment, should the user need to track that information within theproduction management system.

In the billing and expenses layout 900, the expenses are divided bycategory into one or more expense tabs 903. In an embodiment, theexpense tabs 903 contain the following categories:

-   -   Assignees: In the assignee tab, the client displays each        assignee in a color-coded list. The assignee tab describes each        assignee's function (e.g. ‘composer’, ‘editor’, etc.), the        number of cues they worked on, and the sum time of those cues.        The assignee tab also calculates an ‘average’ cue length (total        sum cue time divided by the number of cues). The assignee tab        may also indicate the ‘rate per minute’ (meaning pay per cue        minute) from the assignee information provided in the series        setup layout 306. From the cue time and the rate per minute, the        production management system can calculate and display the        assignee's pay based on the per-minute fees multiplied by the        total sum cue time.        -   In an embodiment, the production management system            calculates optional pay via an assignee-weighting algorithm            that calculates the assignee's workload based on the            percentage of music contributed (weighted against the other            assignees). In some embodiments, billing and expenses layout            900 provides an option to the user to exclude specified            assignees from the percentage calculation. The production            management system calculates the dollar amount by starting            with the budgeted amount for all assignees and divides by            each assignee's percentage.        -   In the assignee tab, the billing and expense layout 900            displays a subtotal area 904 where the user can select how            each assignee's pay should be calculated. For example, the            user may select to pay based on percent of music contributed            (weighted against the other assignees), per minute of music            written/supplied, or may enter a custom value. The assignee            tab also allows a user to define ‘bonus’ pay for an            assignee, which could be any additional amount provided for            the particular episode. This bonus amount is added to the            subtotal and the grand total (‘total payout’) displayed for            each assignee within the billing and expense layout 900.            Furthermore, the client may display in the assignee tab the            grand total sum of all the assignees amounts: the subtotal,            the bonus, and the total payout.    -   Non-Union Musicians: The non-union musicians tab lists each        non-union musicians used in the episode, along with the        instrument played and pay as defined in the episode setup layout        500. In the non-union musicians tab, the production management        system calculates and displays the total fee for all of the        non-union musicians. In an embodiment, the non-union musicians        tab includes an ‘edit list’ button (or other widget) which acts        as a shortcut to the episode setup layout 500 where this data        may be changed by the user.    -   Other: The other tab is where a user can enter expenses that do        not fit into the previously mentioned categories, such as studio        time, equipment rental, lunches, taxi receipts, etc. In an        embodiment, the expenses listed in the other tab is displayed        with a checkbox which can be selected by the user to indicate        whether the expense should be included in the expense report        when the episode is closed. In addition, the client may provide        a delete button (or other widget) for removing an expense from        the other tab. The production management system calculates the        sum total for all of the ‘other expenses’ and displays the total        in the summary area 901.

17.0 CUE SHEET LAYOUT

FIG. 10 illustrates the general layout 300 when the widget associatedwith the cue sheet layout 1000 has been selected according to anembodiment.

In many cases, the MXE is ultimately responsible for preparing the finalcue sheet data for the production. The cue sheet layout 1000 bringstogether data from the other layouts and takes away the burdensome andrepetitive tasks traditionally associated with cue sheet creation. Whenthe production management system is utilized across all users, nearlyall of the cue sheet data is already available for auto-population whenthe MXE arrives at the cue sheet layout 1000 to finalize the cue sheet.In other embodiments, the cue sheet layout provides a populate widget inthe layout widgets 302 that auto-populates the appropriate fields. Forexample, the production management system may populate fields pertainingto cue numbers, names, assignees, use attributes, start and end times,cue lengths, etc. from the spotting layout 600. However, in otherembodiments the fields of the cue sheet layout 1000 may be filled inautomatically when the CMP closes the episode.

In an embodiment, the MXE cannot enter the cue sheet layout 1000 untilthe CMP has closed the episode, thus preventing other users fromchanging the data that is populated into the fields of the cue sheetlayout 1000. These timings are further editable by the MXE to reflectany last minute changes to the production.

To populate the writer/publisher splits, the user selects the ‘populate’widget in the layout widgets 302. In response, the production managementsystem runs a detailed script to gather all the relevant data fromdatabase 105. The production management system then correlates theassignee assigned by the CMP for each cue with the assignee informationentered into the series setup layout 306 and fills the writer/publisherinfo, percentage splits, and PROs into the corresponding fields of thecue sheet layout 1000. In the event that an underscore cue has noassignee, the production management system looks for the default asdefined in the ‘cue sheet’ tab of the series setup layout 306. In theevent that any percentage splits do not add up to 100%, the cue's writeror publisher percentage subtotal is visually distinguished (e.g.displayed as red) to alert the MXE. The production management systemallows each cue to have a virtually unlimited number ofwriters/publishers.

For licensed music provided by the MSP, the production management systemgrabs the writer/publisher data from the MSP's layouts (described inmore detail later). In addition, the production management system alsochanges the cue names entered into the fields of the cue sheet layout1000 to the licensed song names so that proper attribution can be madeon the cue sheet.

In an embodiment, when the information for certain fields of the cuesheet layout 1000 is not available for auto-population, the productionmanagement system leaves the fields blank for manual entry by the MXE.

In an embodiment, the cue sheet layout 1000 provides a ‘print/send’widget in the layout widgets 302 that the MXE can select to generate aprinted cue sheet or PDF suitable for submission to PROs or otherentities requiring the cue sheet such as product placement advertisers.

In an embodiment, the cue sheet layout 1000 provides an option for theMXE to indicate that the final cue sheet has been submitted. In theevent that the CMP tries to reopen a closed episode, the CMP ispresented with a warning dialog indicating that the cue sheet hasalready been submitted and any additional changes will required arevised cue sheet to be generated and sent to applicable parties.

In an embodiment, the production management system allows for more thanone logo default to be entered and added to the generated cue sheet.

In an embodiment, the production management system allows the MXE toautomatically send the cue sheet electronically to the PRO's for theassignees who worked on the cues, potentially negating the need formanual re-entry in the PRO's production management systems. In anembodiment, the production management system is configured to displayinformation indicating the electronic submission of the cue sheet,including information provided by the PRO such as the date/time receivedor a confirmation number.

18.0 SCENE ASSIGNMENT LAYOUT

One potential breakdown in communication that occurs between members ofthe production is that the VDE and the MSPs often refer to cues in termsof ‘scene numbers’, whereas the MXE and CMP refer to cues in terms of‘cue numbers’. Since there is no direct correlation between scenenumbers and cue numbers, one member may have difficulty pinpointingexactly which scene the other member is attempting to reference. Thus,the job of converting scene numbers often falls to the MXE. In anembodiment, the production management system provides an interface whichallows for automatic conversion between the various numbering schemes,as further described herein in connection with FIG. 29.

FIG. 11 illustrates a scene assignment layout 1100 according to anembodiment. The scene assignment layout 1100 allows the user (e.g. theMXE) to assign scenes to cues and vice-versa, resulting in an easilyunderstandable visual representation of how the cues and scenes are tiedtogether.

In in embodiment, the scene assignment layout 1100 displays a list ofcues either auto-populated from the spotting layout 600 or as createdwithin the scene assignment layout 1100. Each cue is displayed with abegin scene dropdown menu 1101 and an end scene dropdown menu 1102. Theuser uses the menus to determine which scene the cue starts in and whichscene the cue ends in. In an embodiment, the end scene by default isupdated to the scene selected in the begin scene dropdown menu 1101.Since many cues both begin and end in only one scene this default maysave the user from entering unnecessary information. However, if a cuespans two or more scenes, the user can edit the end scene dropdown menu1102 to change the default.

In an embodiment, the scene assignment layout 1100 includes a number ofbrackets 1103 depicting the scene number that the cue starts in. Thus,the cues may be ordered based on the begin scene dropdown menu 1101 toensure a clean display for the brackets 1103. If more than oneconsecutively displayed cue start in the same scene, the clientlengthens the brackets to include those cues. As a result, the user hasa quick, visual way to determine which scenes contain which cues. Inanother embodiment, the scene assignment layout 1100 may contain anotherset of brackets on the opposite side from brackets 1103 distinguishingcues that end in a different scene than the cue began. Thus, providingthe user with a convenient and visual way to determine the scenes that acue spans.

In some embodiments, the production management system automaticallypopulates cues into scenes by utilizing data from the spotting layout600 in addition to data from the continuity layout. Since the spottinglayout 600 specifies the start and end timecode for each cue and thecontinuity layout specifies information from which the productionmanagement system can derive start and end timecodes (order of thescenes and scene length), the production management system canautomatically discover which cues intersect with which scenes andautomatically populate the scene assignment layout 1100 accordingly. Incases where the VDE has assigned temporary music in the continuity, theproduction management system may add default cue information for thecorresponding scenes representing the temp music. The default cues mayinclude a default name (e.g. based on the name of the episode or series)and given a cue number in accordance with the cue numbering scheme (e.g.based on order of cue creation).

19.0 CONTINUITY LAYOUT

FIG. 12 illustrates the general layout 300 when the widget associatedwith the continuity layout 1200 has been selected according to anembodiment. In an embodiment, the continuity layout 1200 is modeled tocater to tasks traditionally performed by the VDE.

In an embodiment, the continuity layout 1200 includes act numbers, scenenumbers, scene locations, scene description, and any music-related orother notes. The VDE may flag any scene as needing licensed music viaone or more widgets 1201 associated with a given scene. Once thecontinuity is complete, the information displayed by the continuitylayout 1200 becomes the basis for the MSP's scene layout and the MXE'sscene assignment layout.

In an embodiment, the VDE enters scene information in any preferredorder. To add a new scene, the VDE selects one of the new scene widget1202 associated with a particular scene. In response, the client insertsa new scene before or after the currently selected scene, depending onwhich widget had been selected. In addition, the VDE can select a scenedelete widget 1203 to erase an associated scene or can move scenesaround (e.g. via drag and drop, increment/decrement buttons 1204, etc.)to change the order in which the scenes appear. In some embodiments, thecontinuity layout 1200 also allows the VDE to set temporary music (e.g.with start and end timecodes) representing windows of time where the VDEbelieves the MXE/CMP should create a music cue. In some embodiments, thecontinuity layout 1200 provides the VDE with the option of uploading thetemporary music to the database 105, which the production managementsystem uses to create a playback icon associated with a generated cue inthe spotting layout 600, scene assignment layout 1100, or MSP layouts.The icon when selected by a user causes the production management systemto begin playback of the uploaded temporary music. For example, the VDEmay have a general idea of the music that should be included at aparticular scene and provide temporary music that has a similar mood sothat the MXE/CMP/MSP know what type of music to obtain/score.

In some embodiments, a scene can be rendered inactive via a scene togglewidget 1205, causing the production management system to consider thescene as deleted for the purpose of generating reports or exporting datato other layouts, but retaining it in case the scene needs to be addedback at a later time. When a scene is deactivated, the scene is visuallydistinguished, such as being tinted red or displayed with a textstrikethrough.

When the VDE is finished with the continuity, the VDE can select a‘print/send’ button 1206 (or other widget) to generate a PDF to beemailed or printed. In an embodiment, the client arranges the PDF intoacts with each act's running time and the scenes/temporary musicspecified for each act. Further, the continuity layout 1200 may providethe option to include the inactive (but not removed) scenes in the PDFwhile marking the inactive scenes as such (e.g. with strikethrough). Insome embodiments, the continuity layout 1200 provides the option for theVDE to mark temporary music as either needing a license (pre-existing)or needing to be scored (originally composed), or covered under apre-negotiated blanket license. Thus, when the VDE has finished with thecontinuity the production management system sends a notification (e.g.email) to the MSP specifying the music that needs to be licensed and/ora notification to the CMP specifying the music that needs to beoriginally scored. However, in other embodiments, any cues automaticallygenerated in the spotting layout 600 or MSP layouts may be displayedwith the aforementioned notifications to inform the MXE/CMP/MSP of thestatus of the temporary music.

In an embodiment, the VDE has a button (or other widget) that can beselected to signal that the continuity is complete and automaticallynotify the MSP and MXE to begin their respective tasks using the newlycreated continuity.

In an embodiment, the VDE, instead of working within the productionmanagement system, works to create the continuity using externalsoftware/databases. As a result, the production management system mayautomatically interface with the external software/database (e.g. viathe external source's API), to extract the continuity data to populatethe MSP and MXE layouts.

In an embodiment, the production management system interfaces with avideo editing platform (e.g., Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, AdobePremiere, or any other video editing platform) whereby scene informationand temp music info with metadata can be input directly into theproduction management system from external software used to edit thevideo.

20.0 MSP SERIES AND TEMPLATE LAYOUTS

FIG. 13 illustrates a MSP series setup layout 1300 according to anembodiment. In an embodiment, the MSP series setup layout 1300 includesoptions to define MSP contact information 1301, define review emails1302 of those who should be contacted to review song options, definelicense emails 1303 of those who should be notified when a song islicensed, define links 1304 to quote request letter or confirmationletter templates, customize letterhead 1305 for use in the quote requestletter or confirmation letter emails/PDFs, and customize a digitalsignature 1306 for use in auto-signing the quote request andconfirmation letters.

FIG. 14 illustrates a letter template layout 1400 according to anembodiment. In an embodiment, the letter template layout 1400 isaccessed via the links 1304 in the MSP series setup layout 1300 of FIG.13. However, depending on the link selected, the letter template layout1400 may contain stored templates for quote request letters orconfirmation letters.

Sending quote request and confirmation letters are often a very largeportion of the MSP's duties. For example, in many cases, the MSP needsto contact each master owner and each publisher of every licensed trackand (at some point) will need to provide both these letters. For anordinary production, this could potentially result in hundreds ofemails. To make matters more difficult, each studio will often havetheir own language and format that needs to be included in the letters.Thus, the letter template layout 1400 allows the MSP to customizeletters for repeated use. In this context, the content of the lettersmay be communicated electronically or provided through a layoutgenerated using the platform.

In an embodiment, the MSP can use the templates to dictate the languageeach potential licensed letter will use, what data is included, and whatentity is sending the letter. In addition, the MSP can add a digitalsignature and optional countersignature line. The information providedin the templates then become a default for quote request andconfirmation letters generated for a track via the MSP's variouslayouts. Thus, when generating a letter the production management systemauto-fills the MSP's template information into the letter. Furthermore,after the defaults have been entered, the MSP is provided theopportunity to perform additional editing before the letter is finalizedand emailed to the respective entities listed in review emails 1302 orlicense emails 1303 as defined in the MSP series setup layout 1300.

In practice there are three different types of licenses that a MSP mayneed to procure for a track:

-   -   Master Owner: A license from the entity(s) that own the        recording of a particular track.    -   Publisher: A license from the entity(s) that own the composition        of a particular track.    -   Master/Sync: A license from an entity that owns both the        recording and the composition on a particular track.        Pre-existing songs (e.g. hit songs) tend to require the first        two above. Alternatively, the third can sometimes be used for        special cases (e.g. library/stock music where both rights are        owned by the same entity).

In an embodiment, since each kind of license requires both a quoterequest and a confirmation letter, each template layout allows for atleast three customizable templates covering Master Owner, Publisher, andMaster/Sync letters respectively. In some embodiments, differenttemplates having different content or form may be provided for specificpublishers. Thus, in an embodiment, both template layouts providebuttons, tabs, or other widgets for selecting the exact template tomodify.

In some cases, the letters may need to appear as having come from theMSP, while in other cases the letters may need to appear as coming fromthe production studio. Thus, in an embodiment, the template layoutsmaintain multiple letterhead options that the user can customizeseparately. For example, the letterhead options may include one or moreof the MSP's letterhead, the studio's letterhead, the production'sletterhead, or a text based letterhead that pulls information from theMSP's contact information 1301. Furthermore, the letterhead imageschosen, named, and added to the templates can be pulled from the datapreviously entered into the MSP series setup layout 1300.

In an embodiment, the template layouts contain fields for paragraphsthat would be common in letters, such as the opening statement, a fewdifferent rights, warranty, and a closing line. In addition, there arealso fields for default subject and body language of the email as wellas who should be cc′ d.

In some embodiments, the template layouts support a tagging productionmanagement system for certain variable information. Thus, templatelayouts allow the MSP to create a template in plain English, withvariable data tags inserted into regular sentences which refer toinformation/fields collected by other layouts. The data tags may beidentified by markers, such as two hash tags surrounding the data tag.For example, take the following sentence:

-   -   The following license is for the song Trouble by Dusty Sands for        use in the series TOUCH, episode number 304.        In the template layouts, the formatting the MSP may enter the        sentence, for example, as:    -   The following license is for the song #Song# by #Artist# for use        in the series #Series#, episode number #EpNum#.        The above sentence references and combines information derived        from the production management system. As a result, the        production management system swaps out the tags for the actual        track and scene data from the database 105 when the actual        letter is generated from the template. Tags that can be        supported include (but are not limited to): Song/Track, Artist,        Album, Series, Episode, Master owner, Master Owner Fee, Master        Percent, Publisher, Publisher Fee, Publisher Percent, Cue Sheet        Writers, Cue Sheet Publishers, Use, Description, Mix Date, Air        Date, Total Fee, etc.

In some embodiments, the production management system provides a‘collection bin’ where the MSP may store all the tracks forconsideration and the different means of obtaining them (local harddrive, iTunes, Internet, CD, etc.). The bins act as a playlist fromwhich the MSP can select music to listen for playback and/or obtaintiming information for other features of the production managementsystem. In an embodiment, multiple bins may be maintained with each bincorresponding to a particular category such as series-wide, scene, styleof music, vocal/non-vocal, etc. In an embodiment, the platform may beconfigured with a search facility to enable searching for items in thebins.

21.0 MSP WORKSHEET LAYOUT

FIG. 15 illustrates a MSP worksheet layout 1500 according to anembodiment.

The MSP worksheet layout 1500 provides the MSP with an overview of eachscene in an episode and the possible tracks associated with the scene inthe compact track information area 1501. The MSP worksheet layout 1500is auto-populated with data from the VDE's continuity layout 1200 andincludes act numbers, scene numbers, scene locations, scenedescriptions, and any music-related or other notes in the informationarea 1502. After auto-population, the production management systemprovides the VDE with the option of modifying this information asneeded. However, in cases where the VDE did not participate in creatinga continuity report (or has yet to create the continuity report) the VDEmay enter the pertinent information manually. In some embodiments, theMSP worksheet layout 1500 imports data for the information area 1502from an external source, such as via an API or other communicationmechanism.

In the MSP worksheet layout 1500, the MSP can flag scenes as needinglicensed music via one or more widgets. In some embodiments, the MSPworksheet layout 1500 provides an option for the MSP to filter thescenes displayed in the information area 1502 to only those scenesflagged as requiring licensed music. Furthermore, a scene can bedeactivated or reactivated without being removed from the list via thetoggle widgets. The deactivation may be visually represented, such as bytinting the scene red, displaying a strike-through, or via any otherdistinguishing marker. In some cases, after a continuity report has beencompleted by the VDE, the edit may change and scenes can be moved aroundor deleted. Since deleted scenes may be added back in a final cut,deactivation without removal prevents the MSP from needing to add theinformation back in at a later time. In some embodiments, if the VDE hasmodified scenes in the continuity layout 1200 after the MSP has alreadybegun work, the production management system notifies the MSP (e.g. viaa dialog box) and provides the MSP with the option of viewing andimporting the VDE's modifications.

The compact track information area 1501 also allows the MSP to entertracks to process for licensing. In the fee section of the compact trackinformation area 1501, the MSP can enter a dollar amount or type l′ toindicate thousands, which the production management system willautomatically convert to the appropriate dollar amount. For example, 3 kwill translate into $3000, 7.5 k will translate into $7500, etc. The feesection also provides a summary at the bottom to show the total licensefees for the episode. In an embodiment, the fee section does not includethe fees for deactivated scenes in the total. However, the scene itselfmay still appear in the fee area with strikethrough, color, shading, orother marker.

In some embodiments the production management system may limit thenumber of tracks that can be entered in the compact track informationarea 1501 for a scene to a particular number, such as three tracks.However, in other embodiments the number of tracks can be virtuallyunlimited. The fields in which tracks are entered in the compact trackinformation area 1501 correspond with the option cells 1503 in the MSPworksheet layout 1500. In an embodiment, when a field (row) of thelicensed track information area 1502 for a scene is filled in, thecorresponding cell in the option cells 1503 lights up to indicate atrack has been entered for that cell. The option cells 1503 whenselected bring up extended track information, which includes theinformation in the compact track information area 1501 in addition tofurther details about the track.

FIG. 16 illustrates an expanded track information layout 1600 accordingto an embodiment. In an embodiment, the production management systempresents the expanded track information layout 1600 for a track inresponse to the user selecting one of the option cells 1504 in the MSPworksheet layout 1500 corresponding to that track.

In the extended track information layout 1600, the user can view andmanage various aspects of the track's licensing process. In theindustry, each track considered for license follows a particularworkflow—a quote request letter is sent to the master owners andpublishers offering the proposed fee and terms, a quote is accepted (orchanges requested), and then once an agreement is reached a confirmationletter is sent with the terms of the license. To provide perspective, aseries with 24 episodes will often have upwards to 10 tracks thatrequire licensing. Performing the workflow for each track requires amassive amount of coordination and effort. In an embodiment, theproduction management system handles the workflow process by automatingthe generation of a significant portion of the letters and automaticallytracks the process for the MSP. Furthermore, since the letters and trackinformation is stored in the database 105, the MSP can review and editthe letters or track information at any time and from anywhere. In thiscontext, the content of the letters may be communicated electronicallyusing software.

In an embodiment, the extended track information layout 1600 containscell tabs 1601 that allow the user to switch which track's informationis being displayed for the currently selected scene.

In an embodiment, the extended track information layout 1600 sharesfields with the compact track information area 1501. As a result,modifying a shared field in the extended track information layout 1600also changes the corresponding field in the compact track informationarea 1501 and vice versa. Thus, the compact track information area 1501serves as a shortcut to certain fields (track information, descriptions,etc.) within the extended track information layout 1600. In someembodiments, the extended track information layout 1600 maintains manyof the same functions as the compact track information area 1501, suchas the ability to deactivate tracks.

In an embodiment, option cell widgets 1602 in the left-most column ofFIG. 16 perform functionality common to all option cells. For example,the option cell widgets 1602 may provide links to the letter templates.In addition, the option cell widgets 1602 may provide options to cleardata relating to a particular (or all) option cells, post and email datapertaining to option cells associated with active tracks, and theability to switch scenes (e.g. to previous or next) without the need toleave the extended track information layout 1600. In such case, the celldisplayed will remain the same, but will be adjusted to display thatcell for the scene to which the user navigated. In the event that thescene does not have an enabled cell in the corresponding position, thenext closest cell may be chosen for display or the fields of theextended information layout 1600 may be left blank.

In an embodiment, each option cell contains data pertaining to licensingthe track represented by the cell. In some cases, the option cell mayalso contain a link or option to display the track itself. In someembodiments, status icons 1603 under the option cells present the userwith a visual depiction of the status of licensing for the correspondingtrack. For example, red may mean that the track is unlicensed, yellowmay mean that the license is currently being negotiated, and green maymean that licensing for the track had completed.

In an embodiment, the production management system provides multipleways the user can add a track to a cell. In one embodiment, the extendedtrack information layout 1600 provides an option to read metadata fromthe media containing the track and import information into the fieldsautomatically. For example, the media may be located on the user's harddrive, located over the internet, or discovered via a third partysoftware platform (e.g. iTunes). In another embodiment, the user can addthe information manually by filling in the corresponding fields.

The license info box 1604 contains data relating to the use of thetrack. For example, the fee for the license, the type of license use(e.g. Background Instrumentals ‘BI’, Background Vocal ‘BV’, Visual Vocal‘VV’, Main Title ‘MT’, End Credits ‘EC’, Logo ‘L’, Visual Instrumental‘VI’, etc. which default to settings the MXE/CMP chose during spotting),the duration of the use, and/or a description of the use (which defaultsto the scene description but can be independently edited).

The contact box 1605 contains contact information for the master owner(recording) and sync owner (publisher) for the track in the cell. In anembodiment, the production management system populates, maintains, andupdates this information from within the corresponding tables of thedatabase 105. In addition, the contact box 1605 displays ownershipinformation such as percentage ownership and fees. In some embodiments,the production management system accommodates different percentagesplits based on country. Thus, the percentage split for one country canbe modified or erased independently of another country's percentagesplits. In the absence of specific information, the productionmanagement system defaults to an even split for master owners andpublishers which can be updated by the user. Furthermore, in anembodiment, the production management system provides an option toupdate the defaults, so that a greater percentage can be associated withthe sync owner over the master owner and vice versa. For more than twoparties (e.g. cases where the master owner or sync owner represents morethan one entity), the percentage split for the position may be furtherdivided among the members of that position. The fee and percentagesubtotals are displayed in the vicinity of the information pertaining toeach position. In the event that the percentages do not add up to 100%,the production management system informs the user with a visual alert(e.g. tinting the entries red, displaying an exclamation mark, etc.).

The letter widgets 1606 provide the user with the option to create andtrack necessary correspondence for obtaining a license. In anembodiment, the letter widgets 1606 provide the ability to create a new(or view an existing) quote request letter, indicate that a quoterequest was approved, and/or create a new (or view an existing)confirmation letter. In an embodiment, the letter widgets 1606 changecolor depending on the status of communication. For example, grey mayindicate no communication has been sent, yellow may indicate that acorresponding letter has been generated but not yet sent, and green mayindicate that the corresponding letter has been sent or approvalindicated. The colors thus allow the user to quickly infer the state ofa license without needing to read through an extensive amount of text.In an embodiment, the letters are sent via electronic communicationsoftware or other communication mechanisms.

In the cue sheet information fields 1607, the MSP can enter composersand publishers for the currently selected cell's track. In someembodiments, the fields in the cue sheet information fields 1607 areautomatically populated based on metadata embedded in the mediacontaining the track. When the MXE generates the final queue sheet, theproduction management system may access the information in these fieldsin order to automatically fill in corresponding fields in the cue sheetlayout 1000. In addition, in the event that the percentage splitsimported by the cue sheet layout 1000 do not add up to 100%, theproduction management system may display an alert to the MXE or on theresulting cue sheet indicating that an error may have been introduced.

In the general notes area 1608, the user can enter information regardingbatch processing and a workflow summary. In an embodiment, the generalnotes area 1608 contains a number of widgets for sending (or printing)all quote request letters, marking all quotes as being approved, and/orsending (or printing) all confirmation letters. In an embodiment, datestamps are added in the vicinity of the widgets (and can be changed bythe user), and each contact's status icons 1603 are updated accordingly.In addition, the widgets may provide an option for the user to mark ascene as having an approved, final license. In an embodiment, theinformation area 1502 contains icons whose display is linked to thestatus icons 1603 of the extended track information layout 1600.

In an embodiment, the production management system tracks the overalllicense status 1609 through the use of icons. Thus, if all quoterequests for all active tracks have been sent, the corresponding iconindicates such by turning a particular color (e.g. by turning green).However, if a letter for an active track has not been created or sentthe icons indicate as such by turning a different color (e.g. yellow).The extended track information layout 1600 may also display similaricons related to queue approvals and confirmation letters. In addition,the overall license status 1609 may display an icon that indicateswhether all the quote request letters, approvals, and confirmationletters have been confirmed or sent. Thus, the icon may display grey ifno action has been taken in the cell, red if any activity has been takenin the cell to affect its licensing status, and green when the MSP hasindicated that the license has been committed. In some embodiments, theextended track information layout 1600 includes the option for the MSPto indicate a license has been committed even in the absence of sendingletters or indicating approval. For example, the MSP may want to useexternal software to send the letters, but still use the productionmanagement system for tracking license approvals and thus can bypass thechecks ensuring that the letters were sent out and approvals obtained.

22.0 PRODUCT PLACEMENT LAYOUT

In an embodiment, the production management system provides a productplacement layout for members of the production team involved withsupplying products or services which may be candidates for productplacement advertising. For example, members of this sort may include theprop director, costume director, advertising agents, special effectscoordinator, vehicle supplier, or any other individual whose job it isto supply an item used in a production or to procure a product orservice for use in the show. Thus, the users who enter product/servicedata as described below need not be actively involved in productplacement or procurement; they may be involved only in issues such asset decoration, costuming, props, or other production values withouthaving a direct role in product placement. However, the data theycontribute can be usefully applied in other contexts when entered usingthe production management system as described herein and bound totimecode data.

In an embodiment, the product placement layout contains fieldsspecifying information such as the scene the product/service will appearin, a description of the product/service, manufacturer or supplier ofthe product/service, and make/model/version of the product/service. Insome embodiments, the production management system automaticallycorrelates the products entered into the product placement layout withthe scene begin and scene end times that were entered by the VDE duringthe creation of the continuity. Thus, in response to a user entering ascene number and product/service information, the production managementsystem automatically determines the timecode start time and timecode endtime for the associated scene. As a result, the product/serviceinformation is automatically supplemented with and authoritatively boundto timecode data, and the production management system maintains anaccurate listing of windows of time closely approximating the times whenthe product/service is visible within the production. This informationremains current even if the VDE later edits the time codes for thescene. Consequently, the value of the product placement data increasessubstantially because other production management systems can use thedata for ancillary purposes, for example, to determine when to makeproduct sales offers at the time that the audiovisual program is played,broadcast or exhibited, based upon detecting the then-current timecodeposition of the program at playback, broadcast or exhibition and whichproduct/service data is associated with that position.

The product placement layout, or any layout previously mentioned, may bedisplayed with a widget configured to cause communicating a report(organized by scene and/or time frame) of each product and serviceappearing in the production as indicated by the product placementlayout. For example, the product placement report may be sent to anadvertiser to allow for targeted impulse advertisements to the addedduring the production's commercial breaks or provided as notificationsto the user during playback of the production.

In some cases the product placement layout may be utilized by manydifferent users with many different roles. Thus, in an embodiment, theproduct placement layout filters product placement information enteredinto the layout to only those entries supplied by the current user toavoid unnecessary clutter. However, when it comes time to produce aproduct placement report, the production management system may includeall product placement information entered by any user. In someembodiments, the production management system may organize the productsand services listed in the report based on the description (e.g. keywordsearches) or based on the job of the user entering the information. Forexample, the report may organize the products or services displayed ineach scene by subject matter (a category for costumes, cars, food, videogames, etc.).

In some embodiments, the product placement layout may be implemented bya set of layouts specific to each user's role.

In one embodiment, the production management system provides a 1^(st)assistant director (AD) with a layout for creating scene breakdowns.Before the VDE creates the continuity report, much of the information istaken from a form known as a “Scene Breakdown” (aka ‘Day out of Days’ or‘One liner’). The 1^(st) AD is responsible for creating and maintainingthis document. The scene breakdown layout is a tool similar in functionand design to the VDE continuity layout 1200 described above. The scenebreakdown layout includes fields for scene description and location,which can be automatically populated into the continuity layout 1200.Additionally, there are fields for other scene relation information,including but not limited to: character list, wardrobe list (populatedfrom wardrobe log), make-up & hair list (populated from make-up & hairlog), prop/product placement list (populated from prop/product log),specific scene location information, and production music notes (on setproduction music, when applicable). The logs are produced via layoutsassociated with other user roles, examples of which will be describedbelow. The logs serve to inform the 1^(St) AD which shots need to becaptured. For example, a deal could require that a specific shot of acar's sun roof appear in the cut and would show up in the scenebreakdown layout. As a result, the 1^(St) AD is reminded to get thecorrect shot, and may appear in the VDE's layout so the shot can beproperly represented in the cut.

In one embodiment, the production management system provides a wardrobedesigner layout. The wardrobe department in practice often has a lot ofinventory to manage. The production management system thus providestools to help keep track of the wardrobe department's inventory.Additionally, the wardrobe designer layout can perform other assetmanagement tasks, such as maintaining photographs, scanned receipts,signed release forms, etc.

The overall functionality of the wardrobe department layout begins witha logging tool whereby each article of clothing is assigned an itemnumber. Groups of items can be assigned unique group ids (for example,an entire wedding outfit would be a group, the shoes, dress, and veilwould be separate items with separate item numbers). Each item and grouphas the ability to attach multiple photographic assets and tagged withuser-defined descriptors. Source information such as website and storeaddresses, phone numbers, contact info, etc. is captured via thewardrobe designer layout. A dropdown list easily allows assignment topre-defined characters appearing in the production. Other informationobtained through various scripts executed by the production managementsystem could also be presented as dropdown-like location descriptions.

To handle agreements and licenses between clothing designers and theproduction, the production management system models tools based on thesame functionality of the MSP license tracking tools (e.g. status icons1603). Form letters can be generated automatically using variable-datahash tagging template methods described earlier in reference to theletter template layout 1400. Software and other communication mechanismsmay be used to send letters generated based on the fields of the lettertemplate layout 1400.

A detailed sheet for each item or item group can be printed or emailed,detailing all of the metadata and photographic assets. Optionally, thedetailed sheet may include pricing/licensing information. A full reportwith thumbnail images can be generated showing item and group uses byact, scene, character location, or any other metric captured by theproduction management system. Software and other communicationmechanisms may be used to send report.

In some embodiments, the production management system provides a make-up& hair layout. The make-up & hair layout provides logging tools similarto the wardrobe designer layout described above and can be used tocapture products used, styles, photos, continuity notes, and other datarelated to important props. In addition, for inventory tracking of propsand products used, the make-up & hair layout functions similar to thewardrobe designer layout. Photographic assets can be captured within themake-up & hair layout as well. In some embodiments, props and productsthat have been included due to product placement deals will be coveredby other special tools and layouts. During pre-production and earlystages of production, when many of these deals are made, these toolshelp to assist the negotiation between the product placement team (orwhoever at the studio-level is assigned this role) and the products tobe included in the production. A layout similar to the MSP licensingtool described earlier can be used to track the status of negotiationswith potential placements, and generate any necessary agreements. Aswith other layouts, any data captured is contextualized within theproduction management system and, where possible, is assignedframe-accurate timing data upon picture edit creation and completion bysupplementing the data with information from other layouts.

In some embodiments, the product management system provides a productspotting layout. FIG. 2 illustrates a product spotting layout 200according to an embodiment.

Production assets tracked through the production management system(licensed or ‘fair use’) gain act and scene-specific context, tying itto all other relevant data stored in the database 105. Forframe-accurate description of when products appear and disappear fromview, a member of the product placement team or editorial staff will, inpractice, require timecode values. As a result, the productionmanagement system can provide a tool similar to the spotting layout 600described earlier, but specific to tracking the timecodes associatedwith products. Just like cues in the spotting layout 600, products areidentified by ‘start’ and ‘end’ timecode values. Furthermore, theproducts can be organized based in order of appearance, scenes, producttypes, etc. Information from the various production logs can be utilizedby the production management system to automatically populate thecorresponding information in the product spotting layout 200. Withineach scene, products appear as line items. The fields 201 for the starttimecodes and end timecodes can be entered manually, or captured in realtime by pressing a key command or selecting a widget as video playbackbegins in the video playback window 202. As the cut evolves, theproduction management system automatically adjusts the timings in theproduct spotting layout 200. For example, if a scene is modified usingthe offset layout 700, corresponding changes are performed in theproduct spotting layout for affected scenes. In addition to the spottinginformation, the product spotting layout 200 may also display generalinformation related to the series/episode/version such as series name,episode name, episode number, cut/edit description, version number,date, mix date, air date, etc. which can be automatically populated fromother layouts.

In some embodiments, the production management system utilizes objectrecognition technology to identify objects in a frame. For example, theproduction management system may run an object recognition algorithm ona clip of the production's video and identify individual objects alongwith the start and end timecodes for when those objects are visible. Theproduction management system may then automatically populate the fields201 for a given scene with a general descriptor for each object and thestart and end timecodes for when those objects appear.

In an embodiment, once product spotting is complete (e.g. the userselects a widget that locks product spotting), the production managementsystem has access to frame-accurate timing information (in addition toother context the database 105 provides). For example, other contextthat the production management system may provide includes (but is notlimited to) what character is involved, where the scene is taking place(e.g. a particular restaurant, hotel, or vacation destination), where aproduct is from (i.e. a website that was captured by logging duringcreation of the production), what music is playing while the product ison screen, which commercial break is coming up after the product'sappearance (allowing an advertiser to buy a commercial slot after theirproduct appears), etc. Since all of this data is captured by the productmanagement system during production by the people who have the greateststake in getting the information correct, the product management systemcan provide advertisers with quick and efficient access to accurateproduct placement details even prior to initial release or broadcast.

23.0 MUSIC SEARCH PORTAL

In an embodiment, the production management system provides a ‘B2B’(business to business) music search portal that serves as a singledestination where users can go to find music to license or add astemporary music for a production. Example users include all thosedefined herein as PUB. Music obtained through the music search portalpasses relevant tagging information and equivalent (e.g. iTunes tags viaGracenote or other metadata provider) but once chosen is also given anyavailable context from within the database 105. For example, the trackmay be associated with an episode name/number, act number, scene number,CueLinks, and any other relevant data. Additionally, non-publiclyavailable, dynamically changing data on current ownership and royaltysplits stored in the database 105 may also be made available.

One reason music publishers and record labels may find the music searchportal useful is that they retain control at all times of when certainnon-public ownership information and high-quality assets themselves arereleased. For example, they can decide to publish license rates for eachtrack, or identify tracks which require a negotiation. As ownershipinformation changes, the publishers and labels may choose when to updatethe database with the changes. Further, they are ‘on the desk’ andembedded in the workflow of those in the best position to chooselicensed music. Music supervisors, on the other hand, find utilitybecause the forensic research that traditionally would need to be doneto find those who own the track and split amounts can be discoveredautomatically if the information is available in the database 105 or viaa searchable database provided by the PUB. Furthermore, the music editormay find utility because the music search portal can automaticallypopulate cue sheet information upon the grant of a license andautomatically obtain the media itself for inclusion in the final mix ofthe production.

In some embodiments, the music search portal provides a feature for VDEswhere any originally composed music on a production will, at thecomposer's and/or publisher's discretion, become available for searchvia the portal. The music may or may not be licensable, but would beavailable to VDEs looking to choose temporary scores. Thus, the VDEbecomes able to choose temporary music from sources not traditionallyavailable. For example, the VDE may be able to search by score-orientedor context descriptions such as “action”, “romance”, “car chase”, etc.in addition to standard musical terminology such as ‘jazz’ or ‘poprock’. In practice, composers tend to prefer the VDE to choose temporarymusic composed by themselves since that can lead to being hired to scoreoriginal music for the production.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example workflow for the music search portalaccording to an embodiment.

At block 1800, the production management system receives search criteriafrom the VDE (or other user). For example, the VDE may specify to searchfor music with a certain name, length, media format, context descriptor,composer, publisher, etc.

At block 1801, the production management system searches the database105 and displays results to the VDE which match the criteria received atblock 1800. In some embodiments, the production management system mayalso search external databases outside the production management system(e.g. databases belonging to PROs or publishers) when searching formusic to display.

At block 1802, the production management system receives user inputindicating selection by the VDE of one or more tracks from the tracksdisplayed at block 1801. In an embodiment, the tracks selected at block1802 represent tracks that the VDE intends to preview before selecting atrack to add to a collection bin or to insert as temporary music into acontinuity report.

At block 1803, the production management system streams one or moretracks for the VDE. In some embodiments, rather than streaming one ormore tracks, the production management system may send the mediacontainer as one unit. In some embodiments, in order to save bandwidth,the tracks streamed by the production management system may be lowerquality (e.g. subject to heavier compression, lower rate, etc.), thanwhen the track is sent using a non-streaming mechanism.

At block 1804, the production management system receives selection of aparticular track from the VDE. In some embodiments, the VDE previewstracks via block 1802 and block 1803 and block 1804 represents selectionof a particular track to add to a collection bin or to insert into thecontinuity report for a production.

At block 1805, the production management system places the user'sselected track in a music bin for the VDE or directly into the currentproduction. For example, if a VDE had been searching for temporarymusic, the production management system may allow the VDE to specify(via a temp music cell) where the music should be inserted in thecontinuity layout 1200. In response, the production management systemautomatically adds the fields necessary to add the temporary music.Furthermore, tracks selected via the production management system can bemade “context aware”, as the production management system can correlatethe selected track with act and scene numbers through informationprovided by the various layouts. Additionally, with video editingplatform integration, the VDE can replace a piece of music directly witha new selection from the music search portal.

At block 1806, the production management system alerts the MSP to obtainlicensing for the track. For example, the production management systemmay ultimately update the MSP's worksheet layout 1500 and extended trackinformation layout 1600 with licensing and/or track information obtainedfrom the database 105 (or potentially external databases). MSP can thencontact the licensing entity via internal communication or outside (e.g.sending an ordinary email) to obtain license to use the track. In someembodiments, the database 105 contains an extensive archive of licensinginformation for tracks (e.g. how much the track was licensed for,contact information for the licensor, etc.), that the productionmanagement system can use to populate the fields in the MSP layouts. Insome cases the pertinent information may not be available and the MSPwill need to perform research outside the production management systemto obtain the contact information. However, when the information isadded to by the MSP during the process of negotiation, that informationis automatically stored in the database 105 for referencing when thesame track is licensed by another user or during another production. Insome embodiments, the storing operation described herein is permittedwhen the user has appropriate security privileges. In some embodiments,the production management system provides an interface or layout forpublishers which allow them to dynamically update licensing informationfor tracks which they own and the types of licensing information thatmakes available to its users. In some embodiments, the licensinginformation for each track is stored in the database 105 with atime-to-live timestamp which, when exceeded, causes the productionmanagement system to inform (e.g. via email) the licensing entity toupdate or confirm the information provided by the production managementsystem. In other embodiments, the licensing entity may maintain anexternal database of licensing information with which the productionmanagement system can interface with when the time-to-live timestamp isexceeded to extract the information.

At block 1807, the production management system determines that the MSPhas completed licensing for the track (e.g. via the MSP worksheet layout1500 or extended track information layout 1600). In response, at block1808, the production management system provides a mix of the track tothe MXE for inclusion in the final deliverables, and ownership/licensinginformation is automatically supplied to the appropriate fields of thecue sheet layout 1000. In various embodiments, the mix of a track may beprovided directly from the production management's database 105, or viaan API to a licensor's database.

In some embodiments, the production management system provides apublisher layout that provides detailed licensing history, status, andcomparative information to publishers, subject to appropriate securitychecks. For example, the publisher layout may provide a listing of alltracks owned by the publisher with markers distinguishing the trackswhich are currently under negotiations. Further, each track can beselected by the publisher to bring up detailed information regarding thecurrent and previous negotiations, such as the type of production thenegotiation is for, the parties involved, the licensing fees negotiatedand/or rejected, concurrent negotiations that may conflict, whetherpre-approved licensing fees for the track exists, etc. Furthermore, theproduction management system may collect scrubbed anonymous data fromthe negotiations performed by users to compile general comparativestatistics, such as averaging licensing fees for tracks in a givencategory (e.g. music in the top 50 hits, music more than ten years old,etc.), which can be displayed via the publisher layout. Furthermore, thepublisher layout can provide overview statistics to the publisher, suchas total number of tracks owned, being negotiated,average/max/min/median license fees, and most popular licensed tracks.

In an embodiment, the music search portal allows for 1) non-publiclyavailable master and sync owner information to be automatically pushedto user layouts upon a license agreement, 2) assets and metadata can bemaintained and controlled by the content owners, 3) the content ownerscan decide when to release ownership information and cue sheet data on acase-by-case basis, 4) the content owners can choose to show licenserates or negotiate on a track-by-track basis from within the productionmanagement system, 5) Ownership information can be prevented from going‘stale’ since the latest, most current ownership and split informationfrom the content owner is pushed through the search portal on request,and 6) temporary music can be automatically searched for and included incontinuities to streamline the scoring process.

24. ALTERNATIVE LAYOUTS

In some embodiments, the production management system providesalternatives for the layouts discussed previously that may be displayedinstead of the previously described layouts or provided to the user asan option. The following serve as examples of alternative layouts.

FIG. 21 illustrates an alternative series setup layout 2100 according toan embodiment. The series setup layout 2100 is displayed with a bannercontaining navigation widgets 2101, which performs the same function asand replaces the episode widgets 303 and series widgets 304 found in thegeneral layout 300. In some embodiments, the navigation widgets 2101style can replace the episode widgets 303 and series widgets 304 stylein other layouts as well, not just in series setup layout 2100. Further,the series setup layout 2100 includes a series picture widget 2102 forupload/updating the logo for the series.

FIG. 22 illustrates an alternative episode setup layout 2200 accordingto an embodiment. The episode setup layout 2200 includes a CueLinks tab2201 (or other widget) for accessing the CueLinks layout discussedpreviously.

FIG. 23 illustrates an alternative spotting layout 2300 according to anembodiment. The spotting layout 2300 includes a cues/scenes tab 2301 (orother widget) for concurrently viewing the cue numbers and correspondingscene numbers, along with the name of each cue. For example the MXE mayuse the cues/scenes tab 2301 to translate cue numbers to scene numbersand vice versa.

FIG. 24 illustrates a video spotting layout 2400 according to anembodiment. The video spotting layout 2400 includes a video playbackarea 2401 which allows playback of a video and capture widgets 2402which allow timecodes of the video to be captured (e.g. capture in,capture out, etc.). In some embodiments, the production managementsystem can automatically export the timecodes captured in this fashionto the start and end timecodes of the currently selected cue. In anembodiment, when a user selects a cue from within the cue informationarea 2402, the production management system updates the video playbackarea 2401 to a clip of the video corresponding to the selected cue. Inan embodiment, the video spotting layout 2400 allows the CMP (or otheruser) to create a preview of the movie containing one or more cues andsend the movie to other users (or external entities) for review and/orapproval. Additionally or alternatively, a reference to the movie issent. In some embodiments, similar to the spotting layout 600, the videospotting layout 2400 provides the option for the CMP to view both theCMP's and the MXE's comments together in a hybrid layout.

FIG. 25 illustrates a hybrid spotting layout 2500 according to anembodiment. In the hybrid spotting layout 2500, a CMP notes and timingsarea 2501 is displayed concurrently with a MXE notes and timings area2502. As a result, the CMP is able to view his/her own notes andtimings, alongside the MXE's notes and timings, in order to determinewhich notes and timings should be imported or exported between the MXE'sand CMP's version of the layout.

FIG. 26 illustrates an alternative offset layout 2600 according to anembodiment. In the offset layout 2600, when a user attempts to change atimecode via the offset modifier widget 2601, the production managementsystem provides a confirmation box 2602 asking the user whether thechanges should be saved. Upon receiving confirmation, the productionmanagement system saves the changes made to the cue offsets using theoffset modifier widget 2601.

FIG. 27 illustrates an alternative cue review layout 2700 according toan embodiment. In the cue review layout 2700, the user is provided withan assignee dropdown menu 2701 for filtering the cues displayed in thecue information 2702 to only those cues assigned to the selectedassignee. In other embodiments, instead of a dropdown menu, theproduction management system may provide a search field performingkeyword matches to locate cues belonging to a given assignee.

FIG. 28 illustrates an alternative billing & expenses layout 2800according to an embodiment. In the billing & expenses layout 2800, theproduction management system provides a comparative chart 2801 forviewing the comparative expenses by category or assignee. In someembodiments, widgets in the expenses information area 2802 allow theuser to decide which assignees or categories are included in thecomparative chart 2801. Further, the widgets allow the user to select acolor for each category/assignee which is used to display the fieldspertaining to the category/assignee and represented within thecomparative chart 2801. In other embodiments, the colors may beautomatically populated from other layouts, such as the assignee colorsthat can be set within the series setup layout 306. Although thecomparative chart 2801 is represented as a bar chart, in otherembodiments the comparative chart 2801 may be a pie chart, line chart,or any other type of chart.

FIG. 29 illustrates a scene-to-cue translation layout 2900 according toan embodiment. In some embodiments, the production management systemseparates the temporary music to scene assignment and conversionfeatures discussed above in reference to the continuity layout and thespotting layout into its own separate layout (e.g. scene-to-cuetranslation layout 2900). In the scene-to-cue translation layout 2900the user can assign temporary music to scenes in the temp musicassignment area 2901. In response, the production management systemautomatically converts the temporary music into cues in the cueinformation area 2902 and can be exported as defaults into the spottinglayout 600. In some embodiments, the scenes depicted in the temp musicassignment area 2901 and the cues depicted in the cue information area2902 are automatically imported from the continuity layout 1200 and thespotting layout 600 respectively. The scene-to-cue translation layout2900 then provides the user with the capability of adding temporarymusic and converting that temporary music into cues with cue names,start and end timecodes, cue length, attributes, etc.

FIG. 30 illustrates an alternative cue sheet layout 3000 according to anembodiment.

FIG. 31 illustrates an alternative continuity layout 3100 according toan embodiment. In the alternative continuity layout 3100, the temp musicinformation area 3101 allows users to set temporary music for each scene(e.g. name, length, start/end timecodes, etc.). In some embodiments, oneor more fields in the temp music information area 3101 may be populatedby importing data directly from the media containing the track. Inaddition, the continuity layout 3100 includes a summary area 3102 fordisplaying summary information (e.g. total temporary music length, totalnumber of temporary music tracks, number of scenes, etc.).

FIG. 32 illustrates an alternative MSP worksheet layout 3200 accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 33 illustrates an alternative extended track worksheet layout 3300according to an embodiment.

25.0 LIVE SESSION TOOLS

In some embodiments the production management system provides a varietyof tools for specific user groups that allow specific management ofdetails pertaining to live sessions (recording of actual musicians, canrange from a single player to a full one hundred person orchestra ormore).

In an embodiment, the production management system provides a musiciangroup tool for defining and utilizing groups of musicians. FIG. 34illustrates a musicians group tool layout 3400 according to anembodiment. In an embodiment, the musicians group tool layout 3400indicates specific instruments needed, number of instruments, andcorresponding players. In addition, the musicians group tool layout 3400ties into the musician budgeting/expenses and union-requiredcontracts/forms provided by other layouts to populate the appropriatefields. Furthermore, the musicians group tool layout 3400 allows theuser to assign musician groups to cues and allows the user to sort cuesby musician group or instrument type(s).

In an embodiment, the production management system provides a schedulingand viewing tool. The scheduling and viewing tool cross referencesmusician groups and budgets, and pushes data to the union contracts andpopulates appropriate fields of other layouts and forms. In addition,the scheduling and viewing tool displays information regarding whichcues and versions to record, mix, orchestrate, etc. Furthermore, thescheduling and viewing tool displays groups by a variety of metricssupplied by users of the production management system. For example, themetrics may include information provided by the CueLinks layout 1700.

In an embodiment, the production management system provides a take tool.FIG. 35 illustrates a take tool layout 3500 according to an embodiment.The take tool layout 3500 keeps track of each recorded pass and allowsnotes to be entered in the note information area 3501. Further, the taketool layout 3500 may indicate which parts of a take are usable, via barnumbers, timecodes, ratings, or other methods. In an embodiment, thetake tool layout 3500 provides a link to information in other industrystandard recording platforms (e.g. Avid Pro Tools, Apple Logic, MOTUDigital Performer, etc.) to allow for seamless integration of recordingand logging takes without having to rekey data. In some embodiments, thetake tool layout 3500 provides a grid view that shows bars and takes,with static or sectional markers allowing the user to swipe across anynumber of bars to indicate usable parts of a take.

In an embodiment, the production management system provides a progresstracking tool. The progress tracking tool keeps track of each task as itapplies to each cue (for example: recording, mixing, orchestration,composing, etc.). In addition, the progress tracking tool providessubtotals and sorting based on the progress of the tasks. In someembodiments, the progress tracking tool provides a graphical view (e.g.pie chart, bar chart, etc.) showing how many minutes of music have beenrecorded, how many minutes are left to record, and how much time is leftin the recording session. Furthermore, the progress tracking tool allowsfor filtering based on any number of criteria, such as cues to record ina given day, assignees, engineers, etc.

26.0 HARDWARE OVERVIEW

According to one embodiment, the techniques described herein areimplemented by one or more special-purpose computing devices. Thespecial-purpose computing devices may be hard-wired to perform thetechniques, or may include digital electronic devices such as one ormore application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs) that are persistently programmed toperform the techniques, or may include one or more general purposehardware processors programmed to perform the techniques pursuant toprogram instructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or acombination. Such special-purpose computing devices may also combinecustom hard-wired logic, ASICs, or FPGAs with custom programming toaccomplish the techniques. The special-purpose computing devices may bedesktop computer systems, portable computer systems, handheld devices,networking devices or any other device that incorporates hard-wiredand/or program logic to implement the techniques.

For example, FIG. 19 is a block diagram that illustrates a computersystem 1900 upon which an embodiment of the invention may beimplemented. Computer system 1900 includes a bus 1902 or othercommunication mechanism for communicating information, and a hardwareprocessor 1904 coupled with bus 1902 for processing information.Hardware processor 1904 may be, for example, a general purposemicroprocessor.

Computer system 1900 also includes a main memory 1906, such as a randomaccess memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to bus 1902for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor1904. Main memory 1906 also may be used for storing temporary variablesor other intermediate information during execution of instructions to beexecuted by processor 1904. Such instructions, when stored innon-transitory storage media accessible to processor 1904, rendercomputer system 1900 into a special-purpose machine that is customizedto perform the operations specified in the instructions.

Computer system 1900 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 1908 orother static storage device coupled to bus 1902 for storing staticinformation and instructions for processor 1904. A storage device 1910,such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to bus1902 for storing information and instructions.

Computer system 1900 may be coupled via bus 1902 to a display 1912, suchas a cathode ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computeruser. An input device 1914, including alphanumeric and other keys, iscoupled to bus 1902 for communicating information and command selectionsto processor 1904. Another type of user input device is cursor control1916, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys forcommunicating direction information and command selections to processor1904 and for controlling cursor movement on display 1912. This inputdevice typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis(e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specifypositions in a plane.

Computer system 1900 may implement the techniques described herein usingcustomized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware and/orprogram logic which in combination with the computer system causes orprograms computer system 1900 to be a special-purpose machine. Accordingto one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by computersystem 1900 in response to processor 1904 executing one or moresequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 1906.Such instructions may be read into main memory 1906 from another storagemedium, such as storage device 1910. Execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in main memory 1906 causes processor 1904 toperform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions.

The term “storage media” as used herein refers to any non-transitorymedia that store data and/or instructions that cause a machine tooperation in a specific fashion. Such storage media may comprisenon-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile media includes,for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 1910.Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 1906. Commonforms of storage media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexibledisk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, or any other magneticdata storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical data storage medium,any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, any other memory chip or cartridge.

Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction withtransmission media. Transmission media participates in transferringinformation between storage media. For example, transmission mediaincludes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including thewires that comprise bus 1902. Transmission media can also take the formof acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-waveand infra-red data communications.

Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more sequencesof one or more instructions to processor 1904 for execution. Forexample, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk orsolid state drive of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 1900 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitterto convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector canreceive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriatecircuitry can place the data on bus 1902. Bus 1902 carries the data tomain memory 1906, from which processor 1904 retrieves and executes theinstructions. The instructions received by main memory 1906 mayoptionally be stored on storage device 1910 either before or afterexecution by processor 1904.

Computer system 1900 also includes a communication interface 1918coupled to bus 1902. Communication interface 1918 provides a two-waydata communication coupling to a network link 1920 that is connected toa local network 1922. For example, communication interface 1918 may bean integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem,satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connectionto a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example,communication interface 1918 may be a local area network (LAN) card toprovide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wirelesslinks may also be implemented. In any such implementation, communicationinterface 1918 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or opticalsignals that carry digital data streams representing various types ofinformation.

Network link 1920 typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices. For example, network link 1920 mayprovide a connection through local network 1922 to a host computer 1924or to data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP)1926. ISP 1926 in turn provides data communication services through theworld wide packet data communication network now commonly referred to asthe “Internet” 1928. Local network 1922 and Internet 1928 both useelectrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital datastreams. The signals through the various networks and the signals onnetwork link 1920 and through communication interface 1918, which carrythe digital data to and from computer system 1900, are example forms oftransmission media.

Computer system 1900 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link 1920 andcommunication interface 1918. In the Internet example, a server 130might transmit a requested code for an application program throughInternet 1928, ISP 1926, local network 1922 and communication interface1918.

The received code may be executed by processor 1904 as it is received,and/or stored in storage device 1910, or other non-volatile storage forlater execution.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable data storage media coupled to theone or more processors, wherein the data storage media store one or moresequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method asrecited in any of clauses 1 to 22.

27.0 ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE

The disclosure further includes and encompasses the subject matter ofthe following numbered clauses: 1. A method of spotting music for amotion picture comprising: receiving music editor (MXE) cue datadefining a plurality of MXE cues each having a start timecode value andan end timecode value; based on the MXE cue data, creating and storingan MXE timecode path, a composer (CMP) timecode path, and a cue sheettimecode path; copying one or more of the MXE cues to CMP cues in theCMP timecode path in a CMP spotting dataset; receiving one or morechanges to the CMP cues without also modifying the MXE cues; applying anediting lock to the CMP cues; auto-populating the CMP cues to cue sheetcues in the cue sheet timecode path; receiving one or more changes tothe cue sheet cues without also modifying the CMP cues; finalizing anddistributing a cue sheet based on the cue sheet cues; wherein the methodis performed by one or more computing devices.

2. A method comprising: receiving user input specifying one or moreproducts and a scene when the product will be presented during aproduction; receiving video editor (VDE) continuity data specifyingtimecodes for the scene; generating a report based on the VDE continuitydata, wherein the report indicates the timecodes during which theproduct will be presented during a production; wherein the method isperformed before the production has been closed and the method isperformed by one or more computing devices.

3. A method comprising: receiving user input representing searchcriteria for music attributes of interest to a video editor (VDE);retrieving and sending one or more music tracks based on the searchcriteria; receiving user input representing selection of a particulartrack of the one or more music tracks by the VDE; notifying a musicsupervisor (MSP) that the VDE has selected the particular track andpopulating fields in a MSP layout based on information related to theparticular track; in response to a determination that the MSP hasconcluded negotiations for the particular track, adding the particulartrack to a music editor (MXE) layout for review by a MXE; wherein themethod is performed by one or more computing devices.

4. A data processing method comprising: receiving in a computer, fromany of a music composer or a music publisher, metadata specifyingattributes of an original music composition; receiving a selectionauthorizing availability of the metadata in a data search system and, inresponse thereto, providing the metadata to the data search system,wherein without the selection the metadata is unavailable in the datasearch system; receiving, from a motion picture editor, a search querydirected at locating an item of temporary music for use in an editingphase of production of an audiovisual program, wherein the search queryincludes one or more score-oriented descriptor terms; determining thatthe metadata satisfies the search query, and in response thereto,providing a search response that identifies the original musiccomposition and includes information about how to obtain, download, orlicense a copy of the original music composition for use as thetemporary music; wherein the method is performed by one or morecomputing devices.

5. A data processing method comprising: receiving metadata identifying amusic track based on a selection of the music track from among aplurality of music tracks; storing the metadata in association withproject data indicating an act number and scene of an audiovisualprogram; receiving a request to provide ownership data for the musictrack; sending a copy of the request to a music publisher computerassociated with a music publisher of the music track; receiving anauthorization message from the music publisher computer that includesone or more music ownership data items of master owner data, sync ownerdata, and royalty split data relating to the music track, whereinwithout the authorization message the music ownership data items areunavailable for use in response to the request to provide ownershipdata; providing the music ownership data items in response to therequest to provide ownership data; in response to a signal indicatingcompletion of a music licensing transaction, receiving one or more mixesof the music track and storing the one or more mixes in association withthe audiovisual program, and automatically storing the music ownershipdata items in a cue sheet associated with the audiovisual program;wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

6. The method of clause 5, further comprising performing sending thecopy of the request to the music publisher computer associated with amusic publisher of the music track in response to every request overtime to provide ownership information for the music track.

7. The method of clause 5, further comprising receiving theauthorization message only for one music track that is controlled by themusic publisher and not receiving another authorization message for oneor more other music tracks that the music publisher also controls.

8. A data processing method comprising: receiving music editor (MXE) cuedata defining a plurality of MXE cues each having a start timecode valueand an end timecode value; based on the MXE cue data, creating andstoring an MXE timecode path, a composer (CMP) timecode path, and a cuesheet timecode path; copying one or more of the MXE cues to CMP cues inthe CMP timecode path in a CMP spotting dataset; auto-populating the CMPcues to cue sheet cues in the cue sheet timecode path; receiving one ormore descriptors and storing the descriptors in association with thecues, wherein the descriptors are based upon any one or more of story,location, character, costume, prop, or other production valuesassociated with an audiovisual production; finalizing and distributing acue sheet based on the cue sheet cues; wherein the method is performedby one or more computing devices.

9. The method of clause 8 further comprising generating one or morereports that identify a music composition associated with one of themusic cues, and including each of the descriptors that is associatedwith that music composition.

10. The method of clause 1, further comprising automatically determininga cue length of each of the MXE cues based on the start timecode valueand end timecode value of each of the MXE cues.

11. The method of clause 1, further comprising: receiving scene dataidentifying scene numbers for scenes in the audiovisual program;determining whether each of the scenes, based on the scene data,contains a music item, and in response thereto: determining whether themusic item is a temporary score or is requiring a license; creating andstoring cue data relating to the music item; storing, in associationwith the cue data, a starting scene number and an ending scene numberfor a first scene in which the cue starts and a second scene in whichthe cue ends; causing display of a user interface layout that includesthe cue data, the music item, the starting scene number and the endingscene number.

12. The method of clause 11 wherein the first scene and the second sceneare a same scene.

13. The method of clause 1, wherein the cue sheet cues comprise at leasta first cue and a second cue, and further comprising: determining thatthe second cue starts within a specified time of the first cue;generating a notification message identifying the first cue and thesecond cue.

14. The method of clause 1, further comprising: generating aspot-composer hybrid user interface display that comprises a firstregion displaying the CMP cues and a second region displaying the MXEcues, wherein the first region and second region are adjacent.

15. The method of clause 14 wherein the first region and second regioncomprise parallel adjacent columns.

16. The method of clause 14, further comprising:

receiving the MXE cue data from a first computer at a first time;receiving the one or more changes to the CMP cues from a second computerat a second time that is close to the first time; performing thecopying, applying, and auto-populating; based upon the MXE cue data,changes, and the copying, applying and auto-populating, causing updatingboth the first region and the second region in first and secondgraphical user interface displays of both the first computer and thesecond computer at approximately a same time.

17. The method of clause 1, further comprising: receiving assignee datathat identifies a plurality of different assignees each of whom isassociated with one or different music items of an audiovisualproduction; determining, for each particular assignee among all theassignees, a workload value based upon a proportional contribution toall the music items in the audiovisual production of that particularassignee; obtaining a budget amount applicable to all assignees;determining an optional pay amount based upon the budget amount and theworkload value of each of the assignees; causing generating a computerscreen display that indicates the optional pay amount for one or more ofthe assignees.

18. The method of clause 1 further comprising excluding, from theoptional pay amount, one particular assignee in response to receiving aselection of an opt-out option that identifies that particular assignee.

19. The method of clause 17 wherein the determining the optional payamount is based upon a percentage of the music items that the particularassignee contributed.

20. The method of clause 17 wherein the determining the optional payamount is based upon a number of minutes of each music item contributedby the particular assignee.

21. The method of clause 1, further comprising: receiving scene dataidentifying scene numbers for scenes in the audiovisual program;determining whether each of the scenes, based on the scene data,contains a music item, and in response thereto: determining whether themusic item is a temporary score or is requiring a license; creating andstoring cue data relating to the music item; determining a cue name fora cue represented in the cue data, wherein the cue name is based upon anact number of the first scene and optionally based upon one or more of:a number of other cues that precede the current cue, and whether themusic item is a temporary score or is requiring a license; automaticallydetermining and storing, in association with the cue data, one or morescene numbers for a scene in which the cue starts; causing display of auser interface layout that includes the cue data, the music item, andthe one or more scene numbers.

22. The method of clause 21, wherein the one or more scene numberscomprise a starting scene number of a first scene in which the cuestarts and an ending scene number of a second scene in which the cueends.

23. A special-purpose computer system comprising one or more processors,and one or more non-transitory computer-readable data storage mediacoupled to the one or more processors, wherein the data storage mediastore one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform amethod as recited in any of clauses 1 to 22.

24. A computer program product one or more sequences of instructionswhich, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one ormore processors to perform a method as recited in any of clauses 1 to22.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a productionmanager computer, at a time before closing a media production, cuemetadata defining a plurality of music cues for the media production,wherein a first part of the cue metadata is received from a firstcomputer and a second part of the cue metadata is received from a secondcomputer that is different than the first computer, wherein the firstpart of the cue metadata includes a first plurality of timecodes for theplurality of music cues and the second part of the cue metadata includesa second plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues, whereinthe first part of the cue metadata is received by the first computer viaa first graphical user interface displayed by the first computer and thesecond part of the cue metadata is received by the second computer via asecond graphical user interface displayed by the second computer;storing, by the production manager computer, one or more records in adatabase based on the cue metadata, wherein the database stores both thefirst plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues and thesecond plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues;generating, by the production manager computer, a cue data set based onthe one or more records; causing, by the production manager computer,display of the cue data set; wherein the method is performed by one ormore computing devices.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingcomparing the cue metadata to one or more error conditions and, if anerror condition of the one or more error conditions is met, displaying awarning that identifies the error condition.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the error condition specifies that a particular value of the cuemetadata cannot exceed a particular threshold.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the first part of the cue metadata defines a starting time andan ending time of a particular cue of the plurality of cues and thesecond part of the cue metadata includes information pertaining to oneor more assignees of the particular cue.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the information pertaining to the one or more assignees includesone or more of: one or more names of one or more rights holders, one ormore societies to which the one or more rights holders belong, orpayment information for the one or more rights holders.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising the production management computer sendingthe cue data set to a third party computer.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising the production management computer generating the cuedata set at a time after the media production has closed.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the cue metadata specifies at least a starting timeand an ending time for each music cue of the plurality of music cues. 9.The method of claim 1, further comprising the production managercomputer preventing modification of the one or more records when themedia production is closed.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the cuedata set includes one or more of: one or more cue names for theplurality of music cues, one or more cue numbers for the plurality ofmusic cues, a duration of each music cue of the plurality of music cues,usage information for the plurality of music cues, one or more writersof the plurality of music cues, one or more affiliations of each writerof the one or more writers, a percentage share for each writer of theone or more writers, one or more publishers of the plurality of musiccues, one or more affiliations of each publisher of the one or morepublishers, a percentage share for each publisher of the one or morepublishers, character information or story information associated withthe plurality of music cues, recording information associated with theplurality of music cues, musicians associated with the plurality ofmusic cues, artists or performers associated with the plurality of musiccues, a starting time and a stopping time into the media production ofeach music cue of the plurality of music cues, ownership information forthe plurality of music cues, or licensing information for the pluralityof music cues.
 11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediastoring one or more instructions which, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform stepscomprising: receiving, by a production manager computer, at a timebefore closing a media production, cue metadata defining a plurality ofmusic cues for the media production, wherein a first part of the cuemetadata is received from a first computer and a second part of the cuemetadata is received from a second computer that is different than thefirst computer, wherein the first part of the cue metadata includes afirst plurality of timecodes for the plurality of music cues and thesecond part of the cue metadata includes a second plurality of timecodesfor the plurality of music cues, wherein the first part of the cuemetadata is received by the first computer via a first graphical userinterface displayed by the first computer and the second part of the cuemetadata is received by the second computer via a second graphical userinterface displayed by the second computer; storing, by the productionmanager computer, one or more records in a database based on the cuemetadata, wherein the database stores both the first plurality oftimecodes for the plurality of music cues and the second plurality oftimecodes for the plurality of music cues; generating, by the productionmanager computer, a cue data set based on the one or more records;generating, by the production manager computer, a cue data set based onthe one or more records; causing, by the production manager computer,display of the cue data set.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage media of claim 11, wherein the steps further comprise comparingthe cue metadata to one or more error conditions and, if an errorcondition of the one or more error conditions is met, displaying awarning that identifies the error condition.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media of claim 12, wherein the error conditionspecifies that a particular value of the cue metadata cannot exceed aparticular threshold.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia of claim 11, wherein the first part of the cue metadata defines astarting time and an ending time of a particular cue of the plurality ofcues and the second part of the cue metadata includes informationpertaining to one or more assignees of the particular cue.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein theinformation pertaining to the one or more assignees includes one or moreof: one or more names of one or more rights holders, one or moresocieties to which the one or more rights holders belong, or paymentinformation for the one or more rights holders.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media of claim 11, wherein the steps furthercomprise the production management computer sending the cue data set toa third party computer.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia of claim 11, wherein the steps further comprise the productionmanagement computer generating the cue data set at a time after themedia production has closed.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage media of claim 11, wherein the cue metadata specifies at least astarting time and an ending time for each music cue of the plurality ofmusic cues.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media ofclaim 11, further comprising the production manager computer preventingmodification of the one or more records when the media production isclosed.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim11, wherein the cue data set includes one or more of: one or more cuenames for the plurality of music cues, one or more cue numbers for theplurality of music cues, a duration of each music cue of the pluralityof music cues, usage information for the plurality of music cues, one ormore writers of the plurality of music cues, one or more affiliations ofeach writer of the one or more writers, a percentage share for eachwriter of the one or more writers, one or more publishers of theplurality of music cues, one or more affiliations of each publisher ofthe one or more publishers, a percentage share for each publisher of theone or more publishers, character information or story informationassociated with the plurality of music cues, recording informationassociated with the plurality of music cues, musicians associated withthe plurality of music cues, artists or performers associated with theplurality of music cues, a starting time and a stopping time into themedia production of each music cue of the plurality of music cues,ownership information for the plurality of music cues, or licensinginformation for the plurality of music cues.